Showtime executive dishes on Mayweather-McGregor date, potential to break PPV record

Although the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor boxing match is still far from official, the surrounding parties for the fight are speaking more seriously about it than ever before, and that includes Showtime Sports figurehead Stephen Espinoza.

Like most, Espinoza had written off the idea of a Mayweather (49-0 boxing) vs. McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) boxing match in the past. However, with the fight seemingly inching closer to reality with each passing day, it’s hard to deny its existence at this point.

McGregor, the current UFC lightweight champion, has already come to terms with the UFC to allow him to participate in the match, but Mayweather’s side is still full of questions. UFC President Dana White recently said negotiations with “Money” would begin soon, and that’s where the specifics would begin to take shape.

It’s unknown when or where the fight would take place, and given Espinoza’s experience dealing with Mayweather and the sport of boxing as Executive Vice President of Showtime Sports, he said it all comes down to the complexion of negotiations.

“The date really is a function of how long it takes to get a deal done, because the reality is it took a long time for the UFC and Conor to reach an agreement to allow Conor to participate,” Espinoza told FightHype. “Now the real negotiations start, which is the Floyd side versus the Conor (and) UFC side. If that drags on, then you’re probably looking at late this year. If it really drags on, then you’re looking at early next year.”

The preliminary plan was for a Mayweather-McGregor fight to happen Sept. 16, Mexican Independence Day. However, according to White, the date was taken when a marquee boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin was announced.

Although Mayweather has been quite specific about the dates in which he’s fought during the final years of his career, Espinoza doesn’t feel the Sept. 16 date – nor any other – would be a breaking point in terms of getting a deal finalized.

“I don’t think the date will make a difference commercially,” Espinoza said. “The Mexican holiday has a been a date that Floyd really elevated, but it’s not a date that Floyd needs to make (his fights) bigger. That fight will make the date, not the date making the fight. There are some fights where putting them on those dates makes it bigger and adds to it. This one is gonna be huge no matter what date it’s on, so really, it’s a function of what works for Floyd in the business negotiation and his preparation.”

If a Mayweather vs. McGregor is finally brought to reality, it would without question be one of the biggest sporting spectacles of all time and easily the greatest in the history of combat sports. That’s not due to competitiveness, but rather the massive notoriety and legions of followers both Mayweather and McGregor bring each time they fight.

Mayweather is already the king of mega-events. He’s participated in some of the most successful pay-per-view events of all time, with his anticipated 2015 showdown with Manny Pacquiao being the biggest of all. The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight reportedly sold 4.4 million units on pay-per-view. It was thought at the time there was nothing capable of breaking that record, but Espinoza believes the bout with “The Notorious” could threaten the historic numbers.

“I said after the (Mayweather vs. Pacquiao) fight that I wasn’t sure that we’d ever see some event in my lifetime to surpass it,” Espinoza said. “I hesitate, but at the same time, I have trouble thinking of a significant group of people who bought Mayweather vs. Pacquiao who would then say, ‘No, I’m not going to buy Mayweather vs. McGregor.’ And since you are drawing from two distinct fan bases, it might give that record a run for the money.”

First, though, the deal has to get done.

“If people are as motivated as they seem to be – I know how badly Floyd wants it – if we get this wrapped up pretty quickly, we could be seeing it early fall,” Espinoza said. “That’s the goal, that’s what we’ve heard from Floyd. Now it’s just getting in a room and seeing if people will be reasonable on the deal that they’re looking for.”

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