The duel between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor is one step closer, but not yet a fact.
Yesterday, the flirting between the boxing multi-champion and the mixed martial arts star took another step towards the fight they seek, but the decisive point is not in any of their hands.
Money speaks and no one has expressed their love for it more than Mayweather, and although a fight against McGregor would mean the 50th fight in his record and an equation where there would be profits from all angles, UFC stands in his way.
A report from the British newspaper The Sun considered an agreement between the American and the Irishman as a fact, but there are details floating in relation to the duel that is already driving a large part of the fans crazy.
La Afición has taken stock of what needs to happen for the fight that many call #MayGregor to take place:
1 UFC
McGregor's company is the main obstacle, because he still has a contract for four more fights with The Notorious.
"If that's what he wants to do, he only has four fights left to fulfill and then he can do whatever he wants," said Dana White, president of UFC, to La Afición.
"He has a contract for a reason, no matter what you do, it's very difficult to get out of an agreement," he said. Another possibility is to postpone the fight to 2018, after those contract fights, although by then Mayweather would be 41 years old.
2 TAGS AND DETAILS
Reaching an economic agreement does not bring them closer to being in the ring, because more details need to be determined like who is the "A-side" of the equation, and therefore who gets 60 percent of the winnings; who would come out first to the ring, who would have the red corner and some other details that, no matter how small they seem, have caused several fights to fall apart. Taking into account the ego of both, that could be a factor.
3 DATE, VENUE, AND TV
Another point of discussion is when and where? Although the possibility of the duel being in Las Vegas has been mentioned, it is not a fact yet, because Mayweather usually fights in May or September, and for everything that still needs to be defined in 2017, it seems unlikely, since time is running out. In terms of television broadcasting, Floyd is not under contract with any network, but UFC has the rights to McGregor.
4 WEIGHT
In his last fight, against Andre Berto in 2015, Mayweather hit the scale at 147 pounds (66.6 kilograms), but throughout his 20-year professional career he reached a maximum of 150. According to revealed details, both agreed to step into the ring at 150 pounds and taking into account that Conor McGregor usually competes at 154, it's an advancement. It could be resolved soon and stop being a disadvantage.
5 SANCTION
In order for a fight to take place, it must have the approval of the Athletic Commission of the state where it takes place, and McGregor's disadvantage in boxing experience will be a factor against him. If the duel takes place in Las Vegas, it is a Commission that in the past rejected McGregor's request for a boxing license, which is why he obtained it in California. "It will be difficult to reach an agreement when everyone wants to get their hands in and ask for $100 million," said Anthony Marnell, president of the commission.