22 Sep 2016

Mayweather almost came out of retirement

9:23 am on 22 September 2016

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr says he almost came out of retirement to fight UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor.

The American boxer Floyd Mayweather with title belts.

The American boxer Floyd Mayweather with title belts. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Mayweather Jr, who is 39, retired from boxing in September 2015 but was recently considering a bout with McGregor.

"I tried to make the fight happen between me and Conor McGregor," Mayweather Jr told FightHype.com.

"We weren't able to make the fight happen, so we must move on."

"I feel honoured to be the biggest name in MMA and in boxing, and I don't even compete no more," he added.

Last month McGregor said he was interested in fighting the former five-division world champion as long as Mayweather could come up with the appropriate funds for the crossover fight.

"Right now, I have Floyd running around the Showtime (Network) offices gathering my money. That's what he's doing," he said on August 15.

"He's running around the Showtime offices, begging those executives to come up with the $US100 million cash he needs to fight me. As soon as he gets my money, we can fight."

- AAP