Conor McGregor may have received his boxing license in the state of California but that doesn't mean he's any closer to a fight with Floyd Mayweather.
The word comes from Mayweather's longtime friend and CEO of Mayweather promotions Leonard Ellerbe, who shot down the idea of a McGregor fight based solely on receiving a boxing license.
McGregor plans on applying for a boxing license in several other states as well, but Ellerbe sees this as nothing more than a publicity stunt to get more attention on a fight that's not likely to ever happen.
"It's all a game. It's all a calculated effort to gain more fans," Ellerbe told ESPN. "He got a boxing license. Congratulations to him. Conor McGregor can say anything he wants to but he has a boss and his name is Dana White. He is under contract to the UFC and if he wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match he can't because his bosses wouldn't allow that to happen.
"The brass (new owners WME-IMG) who recently purchased the UFC are very smart people and they would never — and put this in bold caps — let him step into a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather because everyone knows what the outcome would be. He would get his ass beat from pillar to post."
Ellerbe then intimated that the attention being paid to a potential McGregor-Mayweather showdown is somehow racially motivated.
"Call it was it is — it's a black-and-white issue," Ellerbe said. "The reason why it generates so much attention is because it's a black-and-white issue. If we're talking about Floyd against Anderson Silva, when he was No. 1, we wouldn't be having this kind of conversation."
Regardless of Ellerbe's feelings on the racial aspect of the fight, it must be noted that Mayweather was the person who originally started the rumor that he was exploring the possibility of fighting McGregor in the ring.
That rumor then spun out of control with both fighters making several comments on the potential bout, including McGregor saying that he wanted $100 million minimum to step into the ring with Mayweather.
Regardless of the numbers or the boxing license, Ellerbe says that a fight between McGregor and Mayweather will still likely never happen because the UFC will ultimately call the shots and there's no way they are going to allow their lightweight champion to step into the ring with one of the best boxers of all time.
"At the end of the day, he's under contract with the UFC," Ellerbe said. "He's told what to do. He's an employee. He's done a masterful con job to try to trick people that he could actually pull this off. It's another creative way to create more interest. Nobody is mad but it's a con job trying to make people think this is real and even mentioning him and TBE (The Best Ever, Mayweather's nickname) in the same breath is disrespectful, completely disrespectful. Isn't this the same guy who tapped out three fights ago?
"The con game is over. Go out there and worry about dominating the UFC because three fights ago he lost, he was quitting. You couldn't even mention the word quit with Floyd Mayweather. And, like I said, (McGregor) can't do anything without the UFC's approval. There's no way (WME-IMG) spent all that money so they can get their biggest star killed. It would never happen. If they want to get him killed put him in there in a boxing match."
Article courtesy of FOX Sports
The word comes from Mayweather's longtime friend and CEO of Mayweather promotions Leonard Ellerbe, who shot down the idea of a McGregor fight based solely on receiving a boxing license.
McGregor plans on applying for a boxing license in several other states as well, but Ellerbe sees this as nothing more than a publicity stunt to get more attention on a fight that's not likely to ever happen.
"It's all a game. It's all a calculated effort to gain more fans," Ellerbe told ESPN. "He got a boxing license. Congratulations to him. Conor McGregor can say anything he wants to but he has a boss and his name is Dana White. He is under contract to the UFC and if he wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match he can't because his bosses wouldn't allow that to happen.
"The brass (new owners WME-IMG) who recently purchased the UFC are very smart people and they would never — and put this in bold caps — let him step into a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather because everyone knows what the outcome would be. He would get his ass beat from pillar to post."
Ellerbe then intimated that the attention being paid to a potential McGregor-Mayweather showdown is somehow racially motivated.
"Call it was it is — it's a black-and-white issue," Ellerbe said. "The reason why it generates so much attention is because it's a black-and-white issue. If we're talking about Floyd against Anderson Silva, when he was No. 1, we wouldn't be having this kind of conversation."
Regardless of Ellerbe's feelings on the racial aspect of the fight, it must be noted that Mayweather was the person who originally started the rumor that he was exploring the possibility of fighting McGregor in the ring.
That rumor then spun out of control with both fighters making several comments on the potential bout, including McGregor saying that he wanted $100 million minimum to step into the ring with Mayweather.
Regardless of the numbers or the boxing license, Ellerbe says that a fight between McGregor and Mayweather will still likely never happen because the UFC will ultimately call the shots and there's no way they are going to allow their lightweight champion to step into the ring with one of the best boxers of all time.
"At the end of the day, he's under contract with the UFC," Ellerbe said. "He's told what to do. He's an employee. He's done a masterful con job to try to trick people that he could actually pull this off. It's another creative way to create more interest. Nobody is mad but it's a con job trying to make people think this is real and even mentioning him and TBE (The Best Ever, Mayweather's nickname) in the same breath is disrespectful, completely disrespectful. Isn't this the same guy who tapped out three fights ago?
"The con game is over. Go out there and worry about dominating the UFC because three fights ago he lost, he was quitting. You couldn't even mention the word quit with Floyd Mayweather. And, like I said, (McGregor) can't do anything without the UFC's approval. There's no way (WME-IMG) spent all that money so they can get their biggest star killed. It would never happen. If they want to get him killed put him in there in a boxing match."
Article courtesy of FOX Sports
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