Dana White: Conor McGregor Is A Bigger Star Than Manny Pacquiao
Conor McGregor‘s deal for a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. is done, now negotiations with “Money” himself are all that remains for the superfight of this generation to become official.
Yesterday (Fri. May 19, 2017) UFC President Dana White spoke to reporters regarding the possible super fight and stated that the UFC’s side of things have been handled as it pertains to the boxing bout between McGregor and Mayweather. All that remains is to come to terms on a deal with Mayweather and his manager, Al Haymon (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“The slate is clear on our side to do whatever,” UFC President Dana White said. “I don’t know what obstacles or hurdles they have to jump over.”
White said that he is set to meet with Haymon next week to begin negotiations, however, it should be noted that Mayweather is known for being difficult when it comes to talking dollars and cents at the negotiation table. There have also been conflicting reports as to wether or not White and Haymon have communicated with one another yet.
Dana White told ESPN that he has already been in contact with Haymon, while the LA Times reports that sources close to Mayweather say they have yet to speak with the UFC boss:
“There you go,” White said. “That’s funny. There you go.”
“When you get in and you start negotiating, and you start hearing the things that are on their side, you’ll know real quick whether we can get a deal done.”
When Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao, in a fight that had been hyped up for years, “Money” took home the majority of a 60-40 split between the two legendary fights. When asked if he believes McGregor has the same star-power to demand such a cut if he gets into the ring with Mayweather, White stated that “The Notorious One” is an even bigger star than Macquiao:
“Who doesn’t think that Conor isn’t a global star?” White said. “I think Conor is bigger than Pacquiao (when he fought Mayweather).”
A fight between McGregor and Mayweather has been criticized heavily by both the mixed martial arts (MMA) and boxing worlds, with some threatening to boycott the event if it were to be booked. Regardless, White believes the fight is big enough to go through with simply because it’s all everyone ever talks about:
“You can say it’s not a fight or whatever, but it’s all anybody wants to talk about,” White said. “Everywhere I go, everything I do, that’s all they want to talk about. … People can say it’s ridiculous, it’s not a fight, it should never happen, it’s lopsided, it will be this and that. It is all anybody ever wants to talk about.”
