MMA Rumors: Floyd Mayweather Jr. ‘Begging’ UFC Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov For Boxing Match
In August of 2017, most people were shocked when undefeated boxing icon Floyd Mayweather Jr. decided to come out of retirement to fight former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor in the boxing ring. Despite his limited experience fighting in the boxing ring, McGregor managed an impressive performance in the early rounds. Unfortunately, Mayweather Jr. still proved to be the better fighter after he defeated “The Notorious” via TKO in the 10th round.
It has been almost two years since the blockbuster fight between Mayweather Jr. and McGregor, and it seems like “Money” is itching to fight another big name in the world of mixed martial arts – reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, revealed that Mayweather Jr. is “begging” to fight the undefeated Russian champion in the boxing ring.
“Floyd Mayweather to this day keep begging to fight Khabib. Begging,” Abdelaziz said. “Floyd run out of money. I’m telling you, people reaching out to me every week about Floyd to fight Khabib. But at the end of the day, we’re not interested… for now.”
It’s hardly a surprise why Floyd Mayweather Jr. is interested in fighting a guy like Khabib Nurmagomedov. Like Mayweather Jr., Nurmagomedov also holds an undefeated record and is currently one of the best fighters the world of mixed martial arts can offer. The potential face-off between Mayweather Jr. and Nurmagomedov will undeniably catch the attention of lots of boxing and MMA fans in the world, and there is a strong chance that it can surpass the revenue of the Mayweather-McGregor blockbuster fight.
UFC interim champ Dustin Poirier on lightweight title unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘It’s a Rocky movie’ (@Mckeever89) https://t.co/WvZTeDaiD0
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) July 19, 2019
By begging Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight him in the boxing ring, Floyd Mayweather Jr. must be pretty confident that “The Eagle” would be easy money like Conor McGregor. However, Ali Abdelaziz warned Mayweather Jr. not to underestimate Nurmagomedov. Abdelaziz said that Nurmagomedov is younger, stronger, and is not a quitter like McGregor.
Unfortunately, as of now, fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the boxing ring is not a priority for UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and his camp. So far, they are focused on Nurmagomedov’s upcoming title unification fight against interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 on September 7, 2019, at du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
If he succeeds in unifying the titles, there are already two names emerging to be his next opponent: Tony Ferguson and Georges St-Pierre. However, according to a previous Inquisitr article, UFC President Dana White already opposed the idea of letting St-Pierre become Nurmagomedov’s challenger.
White revealed that they will only give it consideration if Nurmagomedov is the one who wants the fight “bad enough.”
