FLOYD Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor continued to trade barbs online in the wake of reports that the unbeaten boxer’s camp has reached a deal for a boxing match with the mixed martial arts star on Wednesday morning (Wednesday afternoon, Manila time).
Speculations grew that the superfight between the former pound-for-pound boxing king and the UFC lightweight champ was ‘very, very close’ to being finalized, with the purse already determined and the date to be announced in the coming weeks.
The 39-year-old Mayweather was quick to quash the rumors, saying he was ‘happily retired’ in a series of posts on social media.
[See Mayweather quashes rumors of fight deal with McGregor]
But McGregor was quick to retort on his own Twitter and Instagram accounts, teasing Mayweather that Las Vegas was now his city, after he arrived in a place the boxing legend calls home on Tuesday for a meeting with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to discuss disciplinary action on his unruly behavior in a UFC news conference last year.
In a series of social media posts, McGregor jabbed at Mayweather for 'retiring' as soon as he arrived and that the city where the boxer lives and trains is now the brash Irishman's own.
I am in Las Vegas. Floyd has retired on my arrival. pic.twitter.com/z9EcxBJaDr
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 15, 2017
enjoying my city pic.twitter.com/DSqKwOWVL3
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 15, 2017
Mayweather did not take the shots sitting down as he was also quick to respond with another post minutes later, hinting that he may come out of his happy retirement if McGregor clears all obstacles for the mega-fight from the UFC.
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) February 15, 2017
Despite getting a boxing license in California, McGregor continues to be under contract with the UFC and the company president Dana White texted ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that no deal is getting done especially without their approval.
NSAC chairman Anthony Marnell confirmed to ESPN that they are aware of active negotiations between the two camps, but McGregor’s contract with the UFC was one of the big hurdles for the megafight.
“People are under certain contractual obligations that need to get figured out,” he said.
Just last month, White offered both fighters $25 million each to get the fight done, but Mayweather and McGregor scoffed at the offer, with the latter demanding $100M for the match even without the UFC’s approval.
White has made it clear to ESPN last week that such a scenario is not possible, saying “I guarantee you, he can’t do it without us.”
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