Jorge Masvidal: ‘I’m the top candidate’ to box Floyd Mayweather in Zuffa Boxing

UFC welterweight superstar Jorge Masvidal says that he is the leading candidate to box Floyd Mayweather under the Zuffa Boxing banner.

It’s no secret that UFC president Dana White and Mayweather, the boxing legend, are in cahoots and working on some sort of agreement for his comeback fight. Mayweather recently revealed that he is returning to the boxing ring after a short-lived retirement, but so far we haven’t heard who his opponent could be, only that his next fight will likely come under the Zuffa Boxing banner.

Masvidal is looking for big money fights and a boxing match against Mayweather would certainly qualify. “Gamebred” recently admitted his interest in such a potential matchup.

We may now we closer to that becoming a reality. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Masvidal now says that he is actually the frontrunner to box Mayweather under the Zuffa Boxing banner. Here’s what he said.

“Mayweather is coming over to Zuffa Boxing (which is owned by the UFC). [The promotion is] going to be looking for [a mixed martial artist] to fight him [in a boxing match] and it appears as if I’m the top candidate. That’s the fight we’re all looking to close,” Masvidal said.

If Masvidal is all about chasing the big fish in the pond, then there’s no bigger fish than Mayweather, the all-time pay-per-view king in the world of combat sports. It’s the same reason why Masvidal is chasing after a potential Conor McGregor superfight in the UFC rather than a fight UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman for the belt, even though he’s the clear No. 1 contender in the UFC welterweight division. Mayweather and McGregor move the needle in a way that Usman doesn’t.

At this point, it’s a wait-and-see approach to see what Mayweather does. But if “Money” does come back to the ring and works with the UFC, don’t be surprised if Masvidal is the one standing across the ring from him.

Are you interested in a boxing match between Jorge Masvidal and Floyd Mayweather under the Zuffa Boxing banner?