By Radio Rahim
Sheffield - Showtime Sports head Stephen Espinoza has confirmed that his network is on board with a potential cross-sports clash between former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC superstar Conor McGregor.
A few weeks ago, UFC President Dana White revealed that a deal had been reached with McGregor, which allows the fighter to take part in a boxing match against Mayweather. Following that agreement, McGregor applied for a boxing license in the state of Nevada.
Now the UFC has a reach a deal with Mayweather's handlers. The date and the details are unknown. But Las Vegas appears to be the destination for the fight.
The date is apparently being targeted for the fall.
Another piece to be worked out is the pay-per-view production and the telecast. The UFC handles their own production and every single detail of their events.
"Showtime will be involved. The details of how the fight will get distributed and telecast and produced still need to be negotiated, but we will be involved. And there is a long way to go. It took the UFC a long time to reach a deal with Conor to allow him to participate and that was a big test. But now the real negotiations start - and that's between the Floyd side and the Conor/UFC side," Espinoza told BoxingScene.com.
"And there is a lot of stuff that has to discussed, from rules to financial splits to every conceivable detail. There is a long way to go, but there is one less thing that is an obstacle."
Espinoza and Mayweather have already discussed the McGregor fight, and plan to work on that event as a team.
"We've had the conversation. We are going in there as a team. We;ve supported him and he's supported us. We know the formula to make this a magical event," Espinoza said.
2023-10-18 15:30:51
