Floyd Mayweather: They’ll be talking about my business move to fight Conor McGregor ‘at Harvard’

NEW YORK — Floyd Mayweather only wanted to come out of retirement if it meant a boxing match against Conor McGregor. No one else struck his fancy. If there was no McGregor, the wildly popular UFC champion, then Mayweather would have stayed retired and counted the large bundles of money he made during his incredibly financially successful career.

McGregor was available, though. And a willing participant. The fight that many said would never happen or more so said should never happen has gotten made. It’ll be Aug. 26 in Las Vegas.

Why was Mayweather so uninterested in coming back to fight for a title or against a top-ranked opponent? There are hundreds of reasons he’d rather fight McGregor, who has never boxed professionally but commands a massive following worldwide.

“This move I made right here, it’s unbelievable,” Mayweather said Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn after the in-arena MayMac World Tour show. “They’re gonna talk about this business move at Harvard. They’re gonna talk about this business move at Harvard. So I want you guys to keep believing what they say. They call me every name in the book. ‘He can’t write, he can’t spell, he can’t read.’ Keep believing in all of that. Obviously I’m doing something right if I made $800 million with no endorsement deal.”

Mayweather vs. McGregor just might set the record for most pay-per-view buys in history. Even if it doesn’t, Mayweather is likely to walk away with something in the $200 million range. McGregor’s earnings could also approach the nine figures.

So, of course, Mayweather, known for his business savvy and ability to maximize his own vale as boxing’s best-ever businessman, made this happen.

“I’ve talked about this before,” he said. “I commend and take my hat off to all those young champions. This move that I made right here is not on the chess board — it’s controlling the chess board. I can easily fight any fighter, anybody — I can fight one of you guys — and make $35 million.”

During that discussion with media, Mayweather also schooled the younger McGregor on his strategy about apparel. Mayweather doesn’t wear another brand except for his own, The Money Team.

“Why would I wear someone’s else’s brand?” Mayweather said. “Nike had to start somewhere. Adidas had to start from somewhere. Puma had to start from somewhere. I’m gonna build TMT from the ground up. even when i’m long gone and my great grandkids is running it, we have to start from somewhere. If I wear anybody else’s brand, I gotta wear my brand first.”

McGregor had been getting on him about not wearing suits during the tour. On Thursday, McGregor even took a swat at Mayweather’s TMT hat, but could not launch it off his head. That’s some good branding.

All the talk, bravado and showing off of money that McGregor does, Mayweather said, is a derivative of his own “Money Mayweather” react, going back years. That proves to him, Mayweather said that “racism still exists.” He was slammed for that kind of behavior, while it has made McGregor one of the biggest sports stars in the world.

“When I, Mayweather, was flashy — I’ve been flashy for years,” Mayweathed said. “Flashy, mink coats. Y’all know I’ve been driving Ferraris and Bentleys and Rolls Royces over 20 years. All this flashy stuff, I was doing it. ‘Oh, he’s arrogant, oh he’s cocky, he’s this, he’s that, he’s unappreciative.’ But then you take the same guy that’s in contact sports, steal my whole blueprint and he gonna do it and they praise him for it. But these are the things that we don’t see. We act like we don’t see. But life goes on and I will always stand my ground and believe what I believe in.”