Here we go again.
Moments after UFC’s Conor McGregor snuffed out Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds of the first round in the main event of UFC 246 in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather was probably reclining on a divan somewhere in his McMansion, flexing his fingers, gearing up to press send on his phone.
If you are one of Mayweather’s 23 million Instagram followers, chances are you saw a pop up early Sunday morning of a mock fight poster featuring Mayweather on the left and McGregor on the right, with the words “Mayweather-McGregor 2 2020” running across the middle.
Either you began salivating in anticipation or you rolled your eyes so hard you nearly snapped a nerve ending.
Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) is retired (for now) but he has clearly not lost his touch when it comes to the art of public relations. On a night that saw McGregor, before a rabid near-sold out crowd at the T-Mobile Arena, return to his winning ways, Mayweather had to make sure he stole some of that thunder.
So how serious is Mayweather? Depends on who you talk to.
The latest PR blitz recalls Mayweather’s provocative Instagram last November, in which he appeared in fight garb with the caption, “Coming out of retirement in 2020.” Around the same time, he hinted that he and UFC boss Dana White would collaborate somehow in 2020, although nothing concrete has materialized.
White, however, did indicate to ESPN that serious negotiations for a potential match-up involving Mayweather were not far off. “Some things have to play out (first),” White said, “and then I’m going to start talking to (Mayweather’s promoter Al) Hayman (sic) maybe this summer and then I’ll have something for Floyd in the fall.”
McGregor himself has done his part in stoking the flames for a rematch. During fight week, McGregor told ESPN that he “would like to rematch Floyd,” and that “I wasn’t sinking into my shots like I am now with my boxing coaches that are drilling specific boxing things into me again. I know I’d beat Floyd if we rematch … WHEN we rematch.”
Later in the night, Mayweather decided to have a bit more fun with photoshop by posting a similar mock fight poster involving him and UFC’s Khabib Nurgamedov, who mauled McGregor into submission in 2018.
According to ESPN, after the McGregor fight, White said “Floyd has been blowing him up all night,” but offered no further details.
Mayweather was recently named “Fighter of the Decade” by the Boxing Writers Association of America.