Conor McGregor’s supposed retirement from UFC evidently has done nothing to slow his rivalry with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr.
McGregor announced his retirement in a tweet late Saturday night and later explained to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that he’s “a bit bored of the game.” This isn’t the first time McGregor has pulled such a stunt, however, so it’s fair to wonder whether The Notorious simply is trying to redirect the spotlight toward himself in the hopes of landing his next big-money fight.
McGregor followed up his comments Sunday with another retirement-related social media post, which Mayweather used as an opportunity to throw a haymaker at the UFC star.
Mayweather commented on McGregor’s Instagram photo: “If I’m not mistaken, didn’t you tell Mike Tyson you could beat me if we fought a second time? Now you’re quitting! I thought you wanted to beat the best? Well, if you decide to come back, I will be waiting to punish you again.”
Floyd Mayweather just dropped this comment on Conor McGregor's Instagram post ? pic.twitter.com/wuDp1Hqait
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) June 8, 2020
Mayweather, of course, is referring to comments McGregor recently made on social media after Tyson heaped praise on the former two-division UFC champion for how he fared in his first foray into professional boxing.
Mayweather defeated McGregor via 10th-round TKO when the two squared off inside the ring in August 2017. But McGregor held his own against his undefeated opponent, leaving the door open for a potential rematch, which both him and Mayweather since have teased on multiple occasions.
McGregor last fought in January, defeating Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone via first-round knockout at UFC 246, and since has taken aim at Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov in addition to Mayweather. Nothing has materialized, though, and it sounds like McGregor is tired of waiting around for Gaethje and Nurmagomedov to throw down in a lightweight title unification bout.
Mayweather hasn’t fought since defeating McGregor to improve his boxing record to 50-0.
