Morning Report: Floyd Mayweather Jr.: ‘I’m not just the face of boxing, I’m the face of mixed martial arts’

Floyd Mayweather Jr. went onto ESPN’s “First Take” to discuss a great many things Wednesday, many of them surrounding him and his long rumored/talked about/dreaded potential superfight match up with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Mayweather said that he wasn’t interested in coming out of retirement for anyone other than McGregor and even offered him a $15 million dollar purse plus a split of the pay-per-view buys but that the bout still never happened.

After his sitdown with “First Take,” Mayweather continued discussing McGregor and MMA during Facebook Live interview with Brian Campbell where he claimed he isn’t just the biggest star in boxing, but the biggest star in MMA too.

“I’m not just the face of boxing, I’m the face of mixed martial arts also. And I’m not an MMA fighter but I do support all contact sports. I haven’t seen an MMA fight in a while but anytime I see an MMA fighter that wants to take a picture with me, I’m gonna take a picture with them because they go through a lot. Fighters go through a lot to get to a certain level and MMA fighters go through a lot just like boxers go through a lot.”

Mayweather was certainly an active presence in the MMA community in 2016, populating the leads of nearly every major outlet covering the sport. His rumored fight with McGregor captured the imagination of mainstream outlets like ESPN and made him impossible to ignore in the MMA community. But despite all the hullabaloo, and some outlets even reporting that a deal was done, no fight with McGregor has ever been even close to materializing. Mayweather blames McGregor and reminds “everybody” that McGregor lost recently.

“I want to tell everybody this, right now. Conor McGregor, do he want to fight? Absolutely not. I’m trying to see if he really want to fight but we can’t make the fight happen because he’s not his own boss. And I want the world to know this: just a fight, two fights ago, he was [knocks table twice] tapping out. He was just [knocks table twice] quitting.

“A lot of fighters - legendary fighters, fighters of today, MMA fighters - everybody says, ‘Floyd Mayweather do us wrong.’ Call me what you want to call me but I’m not a quitter. I don’t quit.”

McGregor was submitted by Nate Diaz early in the year but rematched Diaz at UFC 202, winning a decision. However, the fact that McGregor came back to avenge that loss later in the year makes no difference to Mayweather, who believes McGregor lost the rematch. Mayweather, who says he is friendly with Diaz, isn’t too upset by it though nor is he upset by McGregor “stealing the Floyd Mayweather blueprint.” He maintains that copying him is good business for everybody, except himself. Good business for him is the biggest money for the least work.

“I’m an old dude. We believe in working smarter not harder, and the best business move for me is Conor McGregor.”

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MUST-READ STORIES

The Departed. Robbie Lawler has left American Top Team.

Fifteen. Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he offered Conor McGregor $15 million to box him.

Mind games. Holly Holm says she was worried about Ronda Rousey’s “mental game” ahead of UFC 207.

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MEDIA STEW

The interview that got everyone talking.

T-Wood on Floyd.

Gracie breakdown.

A contest for those interested.

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LISTEN UP

Press Row.

Pickett’s Pod.

Heavy Hands.

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TWEETS

Would watch.

Brutally mean.

Smilin’ Sam.

Cloud City.

Drug free’s the way to be.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Alex Caceres (12-9, 1 NC) vs. Jason Knight (15-2); UFC on Fox 23, Jan. 28.

Igor Pokrajac (28-13, 1 NC) vs. Ed Herman (23-12, 1 NC); UFC 209, March 4.

Brad Pickett (25-13) vs. Enrique Briones (16-6-1); UFC Fight Night: London, March 18.

Marc Diakiese (11-0) vs. Teemu Packalen (8-1); UFC Fight Night: London, March 18.

Tom Breese (10-1) vs. Oluwale Bamgbose (6-2); UFC Fight Night: London, March 18.

Bradley Scott (10-4) vs. Scott Askham (14-3); UFC Fight Night: London, March 18.

Darren Stewart (7-0, 1 NC) vs. Francimar Barroso (18-5, 1 NC); UFC Fight Night: London, March 18.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2013: Tarec Saffiedine defeated Nate Marquardt by unanimous decision to become the Strikeforce welterweight champion.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

That’s all folks. Have a great one and see y’all tomorrow.

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