For several years now, boxer Floyd Mayweather and mixed martial artist Conor McGregor have been the resident smack talkers of their respective sports.
Both pugilists have managed to spend more time boasting about their talents in a single press conference than Muhammad Ali did in his entire career, so it was only a matter of time before they began challenging one another.
But Mayweather and McGregor have been jawing at each other for so long that the prospect of the two of them stepping into the ring together has become something of a running joke in the sports world.
Many fight fans reached the point of believing it would never actually happen.
In fact, the ongoing negotiations were frequently dismissed as a stunt, and many “serious” boxing aficionados were quite vocal about their belief that the fight never should happen.
But believe it or not, The Money Man and The Notorious have finally reached a deal and will be squaring off August 26, in what’s sure to be one of the most-watched boxing matches of all time.
Mayweather, 40, took to twitter Wednesday night to announce that the deal has been finalized.
Not to be outdone, McGregor, 28, made his own announcement and snuck in a little smack talk via a photo of Floyd’s father:
Mayweather retired from boxing in 2015, but stated in March that he was “officially out of retirement for Conor McGregor.”
McGregor, who boxed in his youth, owes 11 of his 21 UFC victories to his punching skills.
He’s previously stated that he wants $100 million to fight Mayweather, and while it’s not yet clear how much he’ll earn for the bout, McGregor’s payday is certain to dwarf his previous earnings from MMA matches.
Mayweather, the heavy favorite at this point, stands to earn more, but when all is said and done, both fighters are looking at potentially record-shattering earnings.
Of course, the title of most lucrative fight already belongs to Mayweather, who earned nine-figures for his 2015 fight against Manny Pacquiao.
The don’t call him The Money Man for nothing.
Fight fans are hoping that Mayweather vs. McGregor will yield more interesting results than Floyd’s somewhat disappointing fight against Pacquiao, but skeptics remain convinced bout will prove to be nothing more than a highly-publicized farce.
We’ll find out when the new Fight of the Century takes place in Las Vegas (and on Showtime PPV) August 26.