Floyd Mayweather Jr. has found a lucrative niche with the exhibition bouts, and he has taken over Japan this weekend with his latest one against Mikuru Asakura. However, even as he is making new money this weekend against the Japanese mixed martial artist and YouTuber at Rizin 38 at the Saitama Super Arena on Saturday night, Mayweather has Conor McGregor on the brain.
“I want to go out there this weekend in Tokyo and have fun [against Mikuru Asakura], then I have another exhibition in Dubai in November and me and Conor McGregor in 2023,” Mayweather told The Daily Mail. “‘I am not into fights where I am going to take any real punishment.”
Floyd Mayweather: "I'm not into fights where I'm going to take any real punishment. So guys like Conor McGregor and guys that don't really hit hard such as YouTubers, I don't really mind colliding with those individuals, but nothing where I'm going to harm myself." [@MailSport]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) September 21, 2022
The latter statement, “not into fights where I am going to take any real punishment,” answered a question about whether the proposed bout would be an exhibition or professional. Still, fans took it as disrespect to McGregor’s skills.
“So, guys like Conor McGregor and guys that don’t really hit hard such as YouTubers or UFC guys, I don’t really mind colliding with those kinds of individuals, but nothing where I am going to put myself in a position where I am going to harm myself or hurt myself,” Mayweather continued.
Conor McGregor is passing on a rematch with Floyd Mayweather 🥊 (via @TheNotoriousMMA) pic.twitter.com/MVy3lJdKht
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) September 21, 2022
In his past four fights, McGregor is 1-3, with his last fight resulting in a TKO via doctor stoppage in the first round, where McGregor suffered an excruciating leg break. Since then, many have claimed that McGregor is not the same fighter he was when he became a double champion in the featherweight and lightweight divisions.
However, McGregor clapped back on both Instagram and Twitter. On IG, he used the two-finger deuces emoji and added a hashtag #notinterested with a photo of him catching Mayweather with a left hand.
Conor McGregor responds to Floyd Mayweather in a since-deleted tweet… pic.twitter.com/EisNYUW8SX
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) September 22, 2022
Then he went further, responding to another point in the story on Twitter, “Floyd Mayweather has said he will make $15 million – $20 million for his exhibition fight with Mikuru Askaura in Japan this weekend : ‘It’s cool. Nine minutes, $20 million, not bad.”
McGregor decided to state his opinion on the mythology of Mayweather’s “Money” to turn the tides of fight hype into a personal attack.
“He also said he made $100m to spar the Logan guy yet never made the Forbes list top 100. He hasn’t cleared $20 million in 1 full year since 2017. When we fought the last time. Otherwise he’d have been on the list. He hasn’t made the list since 2017. In other words he’s full of sh*t”
In 2021, McGregor was at the top of the Forbes highest earning athletes list from his revenue streams outside of the sport of mixed martial arts. McGregor took in $180 million within those 12 months, mainly from selling his majority stake in whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve to Proximo Spirits for $150 million.
It was his first time at No. 1, but his second appearance in the top ten after landing at No. 4 with $99 million in 2018 after the fight against Mayweather; the same year that Mayweather was the highest paid athlete on the list. McGregor didn’t crack the top ten this year, with Canelo Alvarez as the only combat sports athlete at No. 8.
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