Showtime exec tells how Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor deal came together so quickly
Once Conor McGregor and the UFC solved how to split the money that would come from McGregor’s novel boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr., the deal steamrolled to a rapid conclusion announced by both fighters Wednesday.
“It was a pretty remarkable process,” said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president of Showtime, which will televise the bout for a still-pending pay-per-view price Aug. 26 from Las Vegas. “Negotiations took less than two weeks after they started in earnest until the deal came from out of the blue.
“It’s amazing what can be done when you have two motivated fighters. There were no snags, no hassles, no changeups at all. … The volume of details to make the fight took time, but not the fighters.”
Espinoza was leery of believing such speed in important fight talks could continue after Manny Pacquiao began calling out Mayweather in November 2014, and that deal wasn’t finalized until late February 2015.
Espinoza’s network televised Mayweather’s last six bouts, each guaranteeing the 49-0 fighter more than $30 million.
Terms of this deal have not been revealed, but it’s certain that Mayweather will earn the lion’s share of the purse and pay-per-view money after raking in more than $200 million for the record-selling Pacquiao bout alone.
“It’s one of the fastest big-event deals I’ve ever seen get done in my career,” Espinoza said. “These guys are so anxious to get in camp and get at each other’s throats that they’re ahead of the venue and television [pay-per-view price prongs].”
While Mayweather hasn’t fought since defeating Andre Berto by unanimous decision in September 2015, McGregor, 28, has been off since becoming the first UFC fighter to simultaneously wear two division belts after knocking out lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in November.
McGregor (21-3) has shined in stand-up MMA striking, knocking out featherweight champion Jose Aldo in a title-fight-record 13 seconds in 2015.
The bout will be fought at 154 pounds, one pound below where McGregor defeated Alvarez, and where Mayweather defeated Oscar De La Hoya in a massive 2007 bout.
UFC President Dana White said the bout will be fought at T-Mobile Arena, not the MGM Grand, where the bout was approved earlier in the day by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
“Neither guy’s weight fluctuates, or gets out of shape,” Espinoza said.
Because the bout is a boxing match, McGregor is more than a 25-1 underdog at Las Vegas sports books as Mayweather seeks to pass former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record at the time of his retirement.
“The problem, from a television/marketing perspective is Floyd Mayweather has been dominant for so long that people take him for granted,” Espinoza said.
“But he’s taken two years off, he is 40, and he’s fighting a much larger, younger, stronger opponent who might not be an experienced boxer, but is experienced in combat sports and knows how to win fights.
“Boxing rarely goes the way of conventional wisdom, and part of that could be a result from a guy who’s taken some time off and is older.”
Will it really matter, given the verbal skills of both men?
“Part of the appeal is that the fights these guys participate in are more than boxing events or MMA fights,” Espinoza said. “These are true spectacles that mainstream society wants to experience. It’s a competition you haven’t seen before.
“The reputations of these men precede themselves, making this a true sporting spectacle. It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime event.”
Twitter: @latimespugmire
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