Floyd Mayweather participated in an intriguing Q&A session in London’s York Hall recently and gave his thoughts on who he thought was the legitimate Heavyweight champion at present.
Mayweather opened his statement by taking a dig at people who think Deontay Wilder’s career is done following his loss to Tyson Fury last month.
Moneyman, as he’s commonly called, defended Wilder throughout the conversation, claiming boxing is such a big sport for athletes to be defined by a single loss.
“Just because you win one fight, that doesn’t define your career,” said Mayweather. “One fight doesn’t define your career.”
Boxing is a Worldwide Sport
“Everybody keeps worried about two heavyweights. Boxing is worldwide” Mayweather said. “And it’s going to be a heavyweight who’s not from the US or not from the UK who’s going to make a loss of sense,”
“There are other heavyweights from other countries who are very exciting, very explosive,” Mayweather added. “Anything can happen. Tyson Fury can win one day. Deontay Wilder can win the next. But when you’re Floyd Mayweather, you can never have a bad day.”
So, Why Not Fight Khabib, Mayweather?
Mayweather is feeling as confident as ever after claiming he’s never had a bad day. But ever since he fought UFC champion, Connor McGregor, a couple of years ago, the boxing legend has been avoiding talks about another fight at all cost.
Meanwhile, another UFC champion, Russia’s Khabib Nurmagomedov, spent the better part of his March 8 press conference talking about a possible bout with Floyd.
The MMA fighter had visited Las Vegas to promote his upcoming fight against Mexican American Tony Ferguson scheduled to happen on April 18. But Mayweather isn’t ready to risk his 50-0 record unless it’s for an enormous figure.
During his London tour, Mayweather said he had talked with UFC CEO Dana White concerning bouts with both McGregor and Khabib.
“We talked about the Conor McGregor fight, we talked about the Khabib fight,” he told journalists in London.
But for Mayweather to consider a fight with both UFC superstars, he needs a guaranteed figure of $600 million.
“For me, the number is $600 million. If I’m going to go out there and risk it, it’d have to be worth it,” Mayweather revealed.
A Bout with MMA Fighters has to Make Sense
For Mayweather, any fight is possible, but it has to make sense business-wise. And for the right amount.
“I’m a businessman. If it makes money, it makes sense,” Mayweather has said in the past.
Due to that, boxing fans and American bookmakers have been hugely divided on speculating the possibilities of another bout between Mayweather and a UFC superstar. The MMA champions are excited about a possible fight. But the boxer’s financial terms are out of the reach of many boxing event sponsors.
Focusing on the Present
Khabib, Dana White and Ferguson
With or without a Mayweather fight, both the boxing and MMA worlds are jam-packed with events this year. Wilder chose to activate a rematch clause with Tyson Fury later in July instead of accepting a handout to forfeit it.
In the UFC, Khabib is eager to extend his 28-0 unbeaten run when he faces Ferguson at the Maddison Square Garden in April.
