Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather confirms MMA crossover and rates his skills.
After beating UFC lightweight champion, Conor McGregor, in a boxing match last summer, Mayweather has teased a return to fighting after retiring at 50-0 as a pugilist. Mayweather posted a video on his Instagram page, which showed him entering an MMA cage and looking menacingly at the camera.
His antics led to talk of a rematch with McGregor, who he defeated in a highly anticipated boxing match in August. Even McGregor showed interest in a rematch to happen.
Later Mayweather poured cold water on talk of a rematch with McGregor a few weeks after teasing at a move to the MMA.
‘Money’ caught up with TMZ, says he is keen to give the fight life a try under MMA rules, and he’s starting MMA training with UFC champ Tyron Woodley soon. While most felt a showdown with McGregor was an inevitability, a wiser person might see the benefit in one with Punk.
“I’m going to start soon,” Mayweather said (transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie). “We’ve been texting back and forth. We talked a couple times, but we’re going to start working out real soon.”
“I’ll probably need a little bit longer (than three months),” Mayweather said. “A little bit longer. Even if it takes six to eight months, whatever it takes, we just want to make sure everything is done correctly, and everything is done the right way.
“I can wrestle. My wrestling game is not that bad. On a scale from one to 10, I would say it’s probably a seven. We can take it up to a nine, if possible. Of course my hand game, on a scale of one to 10, it’s 100. The kicking game, on a scale from one to 10, it’s probably a four. We have to tweak a few things to take things to the next level.”
“Of course, they’re going to present the right numbers and we going to make it happen,” Mayweather said. “I can’t overlook or knock any MMA guy. Tyron is unbelievable – unbelievable fighter, tough competitor. Conor McGregor, he’s a tough competitor, a hell of a fighter. There’s a lot of tough, rugged guys out there in the MMA. I can’t overlook or disrespect those guys.”
The possibility of McGregor fighting Mayweather inside the Octagon is very slim given the fact he hasn’t fought in since winning a UFC lightweight title back in November 2016.
There were speculations if Mayweather returns to UFC it could be against former WWE star Phil “CM Punk” Brooks, who badly lost his UFC debut against Mickey Gall in 2016 and appears headed to a return on at UFC 225 June 9 in his native Chicago.
Who do you think Mayweather should fight in his MMA debut?
