London: The super-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor has moved a step closer following reports that Mayweather Promotions have booked the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for a ‘boxing event’ on August 26.
Mayweather plans to end a 23-month retirement to take on UFC giant McGregor with pound-for-pound king Mayweather the favourite to win a much-anticipated bout.
According to ESPN, McGregor, the two-division UFC champion, and UFC officials have come to an agreement on how the money generated from the showdown will be divided between both parties.
“There are negotiations ongoing, but none of us wants to turn this into the circus that the Mayweather-[Manny] Pacquiao negotiations were, so I think it’s best if we keep all the business discussions private until the deal is done,” Showtime Sports executive vice president and general manager Stephen Espinoza told ESPN.
September 16 had initially been discussed as one date for Mayweather-McGregor, but that slot has now been taken by Canelo Alvarez’s middleweight world championship fight with Gennady Golovkin.
It is thought that when that deal was agreed for T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, that MGM Resorts International would prevent Mayweather-McGregor from agreeing a fight within three weeks of Alvarez-Golovkin so to not to infringe on promotional rights.
August 26 is exactly three weeks before Alvarez will take on Triple G.
The 28-year-old McGregor is still awaiting confirmation of his boxing licence in Nevada, while Mayweather, 40, has not yet applied for his Nevada boxing licence which must also be renewed.
Mayweather, who had initially ended his career with 49 victories, 26 KOS, has not fought since September 2015 when he beat Andre Berto to retain his welterweight title.
Fuelling the fire even more is the fact his last 12 fights have been at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
McGregor has already begun the war of words by taking a shot at Mayweather’s age — purposely confusing him with the boxer’s dad.
The Irishman posted a picture to his Instagram of Mayweather back in the gym recently alongside a young sparring partner.
The caption read: “Man, much respect to Floyd Senior still getting a few rounds in at the gym. I hope I can still train at that age. Respect.”
Mayweather’s father, Floyd Mayweather Sr, 64, is a former champion boxer himself and famously trained his son to become one of the greatest ever fighters.
While Mayweather has remained tight-lipped on the potential bout, McGregor recently teased fans by tweeting: “Something BIG is coming.”
