Floyd Mayweather suddenly is being nice and complimenting Conor McGregor

Maybe Floyd Mayweather is realizing a little honey is needed after so much vinegar with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, Mayweather (49-0 boxing) had some pretty nice things to say about McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC), taking a respectful tone after so many dismissals.

“I can’t sit right here and knock Conor McGregor,” Mayweather said. “I’m not here to knock a guy. He’s the second biggest name in MMA, so I’m not going to sit here and knock Conor McGregor. He went out there and did what he had to do. It’s obvious he’s done something right thus far to get to the point to where he’s at. So I’m not here to bad-mouth him.”

Mayweather is wrong on one thing – McGregor is unquestionably the UFC’s biggest name if pay-per-view performance is the measure. But numbers aside, the retired boxing champion sounded totally different than in previous interviews, playing up his potential opponent’s chances.

“I’ve been off for a couple years, and I’m 40 years old, so I’m a lot older, and he’s still in his 20s,” Mayweather said. “That could play a major key, and he’s a heavy hitter. So we’ll just see. Has he signed a contract yet? Absolutely not. In due time, we’ll just see.”

Unless he wants a court battle, Mayweather won’t be signing any fight with McGregor without Dana White. The good news is the UFC President is on board to book the fight. And why not? There are millions – potentially hundreds of them – to be made.

When it comes to the details of who gets how much, there’s the rub.

The last fans heard, White said he would lock himself in a room with Mayweather’s people and figure it out. But some have doubts whether the opposing factions even want to make the fight happen. Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza said negotiations are “largely at a standstill.”

Maybe that’s why Mayweather’s current approach is more gloved hand than clenched fist. Rather than agree with fight experts and declare McGregor cannon fodder, he is sowing seeds of doubt.

“Conor McGregor, every time he goes out there and defeats fighters, he’s standing up and defeating fighters,” Mayweather said. “He’s in a boxing position, and he’s beating fighters. When he did get defeated, he was on the ground, so it’s obvious Conor McGregor is a better standup fighter than he is a grappler.

“So does he have a good chance of upsetting Floyd Mayweather? I can’t say, but anything can happen in the sport of boxing – in contact sports, period.”

Is the approach going to work? Sounds like the interested parties need to get back in that room.

“If it does ever happen, we want to give the world what they want to see,” he said. “If it happens, it happens.”

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