The 2017 Mayweather v McGregor bout made the two fighters richer for hundreds of millions and the announcements of a potential rematch in 2020 came as no surprise. According to reports, Floyd added $275 million to his account after the first fight with Conor, while the Irishman cashed in around $100 million on the occasion. Even though the fight is nowhere near being confirmed, bookmakers such as bet365 and William Hill NJ released the odds for a potential second bout between the two extraordinary athletes.
Mayweather has not been in action since 2017
The boxing superstar is eyeing a return to the professional sport for the first time since 2017 and the landmark 50th victory of his career. His first bout against the UFC superstar saw a 10th round stoppage as “The Money” improved his impeccable professional record to 50-0 on the occasion. The 43-year-old boxer has been enjoying his retirement for the last three years, but there are rumors about his return to the ring in 2020.
Floyd looking at two potential fights in 2020
The five-division world champion has been very active on his social media channels at the start of the year. He is allegedly planning a couple of fights in 2020, looking for rematches against Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor. We have to go back to 2015 to find Mayweather’s previous bout against a career boxer. He saw off Andre Berto in September that year to cement his legacy of being one of the sport’s greats. Pacquiao has won five of his six fights after the defeat to the Michigan-native and there are no doubts the rematch would draw attention by the audience all across the globe.
Nonetheless, it is really hard to believe the 43-year old boxer will actually go for two fights within several months. If he is indeed coming back to ring, it will likely be against one of the top two UFC superstars, Connor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Conor marked the UFC comeback with a flashy TKO victory over Cowboy in January
Much like his fellow “money maker”, Conor McGregor has been flirting with retirement in the last few years. He has stepped into the UFC octagon no more than two times since the 2017 bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The Irish superstar was brought to his knees in a defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov but managed to bounce back with an empathic TKO win over Donald Cowboy Cerrone at the start of the year. Conor needed no more than 40 seconds to mark a strong comeback and open up the doors for new money-making bouts.
Floyd’s teasers
Just after McGregor’s win over Cerrone, Mayweather posted a couple of teasing promotion images to his Instagram profile. The first image said “Mayweather v McGregor 2”, while the second was titled “Mayweather v Nurmagomedov”. The images contained the Mayweather Promotions logo as well as the UFC strapline.
The images went viral within moments and UFC boss Dana White added the spice by saying the negotiations about potential bouts have already taken place. White also revealed the possibility of the bout being held under the UFC rules. In most people’s eyes, this is a highly unlikely scenario as it is hard to believe a 43-year-old boxer would agree to fight one of the MMA’s greats in his own backyard (octagon). Mayweather has zero experience in MMA and he has certainly witnessed McGregor’s 40-second thrilling victory over Cerrone.
Conor immediately responded revealing his desire for fighting “The Money” for the second time. He will not get the opportunity for a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov any time soon, while it is hard to expect he would be in a position to agree on a bout with Floyd in 2021 or 2022.
Taking the money at stake and everything else discussed above, there is a high chance we are going to witness Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor rematch in 2020.