Floyd Mayweather knew exactly what he was doing.
You don’t amass a 49-0 professional boxing record and a solid relationship with the Nevada State Athletic Commission without knowing the rules of the sport.
On Tuesday night, Mayweather took to Instagram to make Conor McGregor an offer that he knew was impossible to come to fruition but would make him come across as a fearless fighter.
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“Don’t believe what you hear in the media,” Mayweather wrote on the social media platform. “Don’t believe what you hear on blog sites. If it’s not coming directly from me, then it’s not true. I’m telling McGregor, ‘Let’s fight in 8oz gloves’. McGregor can fight in any brand he prefers or chooses. I’ll be wearing 8oz Grant gloves. Whatever advantage McGregor needs to feel more comfortable in the ring, I’m willing to accommodate. Let’s give the boxing and MMA fans what they want to see.”
The offer came on the back of a claim from ‘The Notorious’ during last month’s promotional world tour, when he revealed that Mayweather had insisted on a certain standard, weight and style of glove for the Irishman’s boxing debut on August 26.
“The gloves, they have to be 10oz,” McGregor said. “154lbs, he’s never fought at 154, I think he’s fought at 154 maybe once. He wants the gloves up, no problem, give him the gloves up. I’ll wear 10oz. No Mexican made gloves, OK, no problem. No gloves made out of horse hair, no problem, I don’t give a fuck.”
Mayweather’s apparent agreement to switching from 10oz gloves to 8oz gloves would undoubtedly be beneficial to McGregor, due to his superior punching power and familiarity with sporting 4oz gloves in the UFC’s Octagon.
McGregor responded to the above post by announcing that the size of glove was a non-issue for him but even he would know that there is no chance in hell that the pair will be allowed to fight at 154lbs with 8oz gloves.
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The Nevada State Athletic Commission, who will sanction the bout at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, have made their stance on the issue very clear.
“These regulations are in place for the health and safety of the athletes, which is of the utmost importance to the commission,” NSAC executive director Bob Bennett told ESPN. “Our regulations already outline the appropriate glove size according to contracted weight of a fight.”
The fight contracts were signed in mid-June and the agreed weight was junior middleweight (154lbs) so the pair have no option but to wear 10oz gloves, even if both men agree to wear lighter gloves.
