MIXED MARTIAL ARTS superstar Conor McGregor has obtained a professional boxing licence to further fuel rumours that he will switch disciplines to seek a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
McGregor was issued with a licence by the state of California yesterday, meaning speculation surrounding the Dubliner and undefeated pound-for-pound boxing great Mayweather is unlikely to relent.
“He got a licence today and a federal ID,” California State Athletic Commission executive officer Andy Foster told MMAFighting.com. “He’s a California boxer now. He’s qualified. I’d love to see him fight in California. It just needs to be the right opponent. Certainly a high-level opponent. We’re happy to license him. We’re happy he’s a California fighter.”
McGregor is the current UFC lightweight champion and former UFC featherweight champion, a title stripped from him last weekend. Mayweather, who won titles in five weight classes, has been retired since a win against Andre Berto in September 2015 brought his professional record to 49-0.
The two have been throwing barbs at each other through the media in recent months. McGregor says he’s interested in the bout if the money is right and Mayweather said in May that a fight between the pair will “absolutely” happen.
On Tuesday, McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh told Cork’s RedFM that talks between the two camps had taken place: “If the odds were good enough, I’d put a few quid on [the fight happening] next year.
“I’m not breaking any news saying that there’s conversations going back and forth for the last year or so. Is it getting any closer? I don’t know, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me that it’s going to happen.”
After defeating Eddie Alvarez last month to win the UFC lightweight title, McGregor suggested that he’ll be taking a short hiatus from competing. The 28-year-old’s girlfriend, Dee, is due to give birth in May and McGregor also explained that he has some financial issues to iron out with the UFC.
A major stumbling block in any potential fight between McGregor and Mayweather, however, is likely to be the Irishman’s UFC contract. Standard UFC deals claim exclusive rights over any “mixed martial art, martial art, boxing, professional wrestling, or any other fighting competition or exhibition” a fighter engages in.
Prior to making the switch to mixed martial arts in his late teens, McGregor — whose striking is among the best in MMA — was an amateur boxer at Crumlin Boxing Club.
