The Irishman reacted after the boxing icon suggested a second bout is on the cards for 2023
The pair fought in a lucrative Las Vegas bout in 2017. © Stephen McCarthy / Sportsfile via Getty Images
Conor McGregor has poured cold water on a potential rematch with Floyd Mayweather, stating he is not interested in a repeat of their 2017 box office smash.
Mayweather set tongues wagging on Wednesday after telling the Daily Mail that the fight icons were set to meet again next year.
“I want to go out there this weekend and have fun,” Mayweather first said of his meeting with Japanese MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura, which is set to take place at the Saitama Super Arena on Sunday.
“Then I have another exhibition Dubai in November and me and Conor McGregor in 2023.
“We don’t know if it’s going to be an exhibition or a real fight. But there’s been talks of both. I would prefer an exhibition,” Mayweather said.
Taking to Instagram, McGregor dropped the hashtag “not interested” to explain his stance and debunk Mayweather’s claims.
The phrase was accompanied by a photo of him landing an uppercut on the American in the ring during their original contest, which Showtime later said achieved 4.3 million pay-per-view buys in the US alone.
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McGregor uploaded the same photo later on with the caption “The Cream Catalogue” and a “McGregor Inc” hashtag.
Pasted on to Mayweather on the snap was a list of the Irishman’s businesses, but sharing the flush shot could also have been a retort to a sly dig the 45-year-old boxer made at his former ring rival.
“I am not into fights where I am going to take any real punishment,” Mayweather explained as to why he prefers exhibition bouts these days.
“So, guys like Conor McGregor and guys that don’t really hit hard such as YouTubers or UFC guys, I don’t really mind colliding with those kinds of individuals but nothing where I am going to put myself in a position where I am going to harm myself or hurt myself,” Mayweather added.
Finishing his foe via a 10th-round TKO in Las Vegas, it was Mayweather who went home with the bragging rights from their first meeting while also a reported $280 million richer.
McGregor’s estimated $130 million pay packet would appear tempting for any fighter to try and take home again, although the response from ‘The Notorious’ could be taken as the Dubliner remaining focused on recapturing the lightweight title in the UFC.
McGregor, 34, has been on a 14-month hiatus following a horrific leg break during his defeat to Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi in July 2021.
“Obviously, my return will be in the octagon for UFC – that story is far from over, in fact it’s just being written, it is just the beginning,” McGregor clarified to Sky Sports while attending the Monaco Grand Prix in late May.
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Leaving the door open to Mayweather one day, however, he did state that he will “grace the squared circle again in the future.”
“Boxing is my first love in combat sports. I had such a great time the last time I was out there,” McGregor added.
