UFC legend Georges St-Pierre reveals being offered Floyd Mayweather boxing match with mixed rules
Georges St-Pierre shares what went behind the scenes for his potential fight with Floyd Mayweather.
Georges St-Pierre had the chance to fight Floyd Mayweather (via Imago)
George St-Pierre has participated in some of the iconic fights in the history of UFC. Fighting GSP is a dream for many fighters, but not everyone has that opportunity. While Floyd Mayweather came close to fighting him, it didn’t go as planned. GSP recently did an interview with Covers where he talked about his UFC career, retirement life, etc.
In the middle of the conversation, Georges St-Pierre mentioned when he was approached once to fight Floyd Mayweather. The fighter remembered talking to a promoter who laid down the rules of the fight. However, GSP didn’t like the idea as the fight was unfair.
There was a promoter that wanted to organize. It was a fair compromise between boxing and MMA against Floyd Mayweather. I was retired but this one I'm interested. We had dinner..he said it's a boxing fight in an octagonal ring. Forget it because it's a trap. I'm not that stupid…they went talk to Floyd and it didn't work.GSP via Covers interview
St-Pierre’s hesitation to engage in a boxing match with Mayweather shows the complexities of cross-discipline matchups. While such bouts often generate immense excitement among fans, the challenge of adapting to different rulesets and fighting styles remains difficult for established fighters.
GSP isn’t the only UFC fighter that Mayweather had approached to fight. Conor McGregor fought Mayweather in a boxing bout, which became the second most-grossing PPV event of all time. Similarly, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nate Diaz had discussions to fight the undefeated boxer in the past.
Related: “Prime GSP beats Khabib,” Robert Whittaker reveals why Georges St-Pierre defeats Khabib Nurmagomedov in their prime version
Georges St-Pierre talks about Dana White blocking him from fighting Oscar De La Hoya
In 2021, Georges St-Pierre was given an opportunity to fight boxing Oscar De La Hoya in a Triller Pay-per-view event. GSP was initially hyped about the event as it was something unique. At the age of 40, he wanted to do something challenging.
Georges St-Pierre speaks about Dana White disapproving of his fight with Oscar De La Hoya (via UFC.com/DAZN)
However, due to GSP’s contract with UFC, he had to get permission from the promotion. Ultimately, it didn’t work due to White’s strained relationship with De La Hoya
I’m 40 years old. But to do something different, something that could be fun and very motivating for me….against a legend in the sport like Oscar De La Hoya, I think I would’ve done…“I even called Lorenzo to try to convince Dana, Lorenzo liked the idea, but Dana did not want it. I knew he hated Oscar.GSP via The MMA Hour
According to GSP, for compensation, Dana White offered him to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in a UFC bout. However, it also faced complications and didn’t materialize. For fight fans, it was extremely unfortunate that they couldn’t see GSP participating in such intriguing contests.