Mayweather Eyeing Return, UFC Stars
- August 27, 2020
- VegasInsider.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Conor McGregor in 2017 and many pundits believe the pair could meet in the square ring again. (AP)
Mayweather Sparring Partner Believes Money is Ready!
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. hasn’t fought since 2017 when he improved to 50-0 with a defeated UFC superstar Conor McGregor with a 10th round technical knockout victory.
With that victory, Mayweather set the boxing record for the longest active unbeaten streak in a professional career at 50–0.
His nickname Money was proven again in the fight versus McGregor as Mayweather reportedly earned over $300 million from the fight against the UFC star.
Whenever an upcoming boxing contender starts to get noticed, Mayweather's name always gets mentioned as a possible opponent even though the 43-year-old fighter hasn't fought in three years.
Recently, boxing journalist Mark Gatford spoke with Denis Douglin, Floyd Mayweather's sparring partner.
Douglin recently shared a grueling 2:00 a.m. session with the legendary boxer and he believes Floyd will fight again and that he can still hang with world-class fighters.
He also suggests that Floyd chose to spar him southpaw in preparation for fights against two possible UFC opponents.
One would be the aforementioned McGregor and the other would be Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is currently the UFC lightweight champion.
Douglin recounts his middle-of-the-night sparring duel with the legendary Mayweather.
Could we see Floyd back in the ring?
"Yes, 100 percent I think he could come back. As a fighter it's amazing to see another fighter, especially an African-American fighter, doing so well, making so much money, having fun, milking the game - so why not keep going? If you're safe and you feel protected and you're smart, I wanna say keep going.
"I don't think he’ll come back and fight the top guys like Errol Spence or Terrence Crawford but I do think he'll come back and probably do some exhibition matches because he loves the sport and being a competitor. But I don't think, at this time, he'll put himself in a position to seriously hurt himself.
Floyd’s Uncle told us he could fight Connor McGregor or Khabib - is that possible?
"I do think this could happen, I think he's going to fight UFC guys. It’s actually quite interesting because I'm left-handed and McGregor and Khabib are both left-handed, so him choosing to spar me, that might be the reason why. That's something someone said to me the other day and I was like, you know what, that makes sense, so it’s very possible.
"The Conor McGregor fight generated so much money, why not do something like that again or fight another UFC fighter if he's making millions of dollars?
How did the spar go?
"He called me up around 1 in the morning. I know he likes to train at night. So I got up and told my mother that Mayweather wanted to spar. We got to the gym before him, I was walking around taking pictures and stuff. He walked in at 2 in the morning with so much energy and so excited, and he let me know that he was going to beat me up.
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"He was making fun of me saying harmless stuff like: ‘Oh, you think you're so bad, you got all of those muscles, but I’m still going to beat you up’. I thought as much as I look up to this man. So I couldn't wait to get into the ring and put it on him. And I love the fact that he was excited to beat me up, it was like an honour to have Mayweather talking bad about me.
"The first three rounds were great work, still talking trash back and forth to each other, and then in the fourth round he said: ‘let's turn the bell off, we're going to spar until you quit’.
"I was like: ‘Floyd, as much as I love you, if we turn this bell off and spar until I quit, we're going to be here all day because I'm never going to quit’. So he turned the bell off and we just sparred non-stop; no bell, no-one calling time, and we just worked, worked, worked. We were in there for like 30 minutes.
"I landed on him and it was very good sparring. The people that were there were saying we've never seen someone pushing Floyd that much. My mom was happy, Floyd was happy.
"The last time we sparred was probably three years ago for his exhibition match in Asia and I kind of felt like he was slowing down a little bit. This time he felt sharp, he felt strong, his stamina was great. It was almost like he's getting better.
"Everything that he’s going through in his life is making him more focused on boxing. I think he could still hang with the top guys. There's no reason to try because he's already proven himself, but if he wanted to, he could still do it. With Errol Spence at his best, Floyd can still compete with him 100 percent."
Floyd Mayweather Betting Odds
While Douglin believes Mayweather is ready to fight and be very competitive, what do the oddsmakers think of the Mayweather’s chances?
Since no official fights have been scheduled, the majority of global sportsbooks aren’t keen on posting prices on potential fights but we have seen some betting markets open on potential fights for Mayweather.
William Hill, a major global operator and in the US, has provided some markets and other betting shops have followed their lead.
Listed below are potential fights for Mayweather and consensus money-line odds on those bouts.
Mayweather Jr. vs. McGregor 2
Floyd Mayweather Jr. opened as a -3000 betting favorite over McGregor for their first bout but the money all went on the underdog, which is common in the fight game. McGregor closed as a 9/2 underdog (Bet $100 to win $450) while Floyd was a minus-750 favorite (Bet $100 to win $13).
If the two were to meet again, Mayweather would be a 1/10 favorite while McGregor would be a 6/1 underdog based on the hypothetical consensus odds.
And for the MMA fans at VegasInsider.com, it should be noted that if the odds would be completely reversed if the two combatants ever met in the UFC octagon. McGregor (-2000) would actually be a heavier favorite over Floyd (+900) and that shouldn't come as a surprise.
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Mayweather Jr. vs. Khabib
Some pundits would argue that Khabib Nurmagomedov is the best combat fighter in the world and it's hard to argue the facts against the UFC Lightweight Champion. He's 28-0 in his career but he's not a boxer, rather a mixed martial artist who focuses more on grappling than his stand-up game. He's currently scheduled to fight Justin Gaethje on October 24, 2020 at UFC 254 for the lightweight championship.
Mayweather Jr. has been installed as a -1400 betting favorite (Bet $100 to $7) while the take-back on Nurmagomedov is listed at 15/2 odds (Bet $100 to win $750).
Similar to McGregor's experience in the octagon, Khabib would be a heavy favorite (-1000) if he ever faced "Money" in the cage. Mayweather as an underdog seems intriguing at 6/1 odds but he would have no chance.
And for the MMA fans at VegasInsider.com, it should be noted that if the odds would be completely reversed if the two combatants ever met in the UFC octagon. McGregor (-2000) would actually be a heavier favorite over Floyd (+900) and that shouldn't come as a surprise.
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Mayweather Future Boxing Odds
For the fight fans that want to see Mayweather fight a real fighter, a boxer, the oddsmakers have posted odds on a couple potential bouts against veterans.
- Adrien Broner
- Manny Pacquiao
Mayweather never fought Broner but he did beat Manny Pacquiao by a 12-round unanimous decision in 2015.
Pacquiao aka "Pac-Man" continues to remain active, fighting six times since the loss to Mayweather and he's posted a 5-1 record in those contests and the maybe believe he was robbed in the lone loss. His last result came in 2019.
One of those wins for Pac-Man came against Broner, which was a 12-round unanimous decision on Jan. 19, 2019.
Listed below are the consensus odds for Mayweather versus each fighter, much tighter than his UFC opponents.
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Oddsmakers believe that the toughest return fight for Mayweather would be a rematch against Manny Pacquiao. (AP)
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