NSAC: Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor must fight in 10-ounce gloves
— -- This story has been corrected. Read below.
Unretiring former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather and UFC superstar Conor McGregor are contracted to wear 10-ounce gloves for their Aug. 26 junior middleweight fight. That is the glove size that junior middleweight boxers must wear, according to Nevada State Athletic Commission regulations.
But a month before the Showtime PPV fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Mayweather had other ideas. Mayweather said on Tuesday that he wants to wear 8-ounce gloves, which McGregor has said he would prefer.
"Don't believe what you hear in the media. Don't believe what you hear on blog sites. If it's not coming directly from me, then it's not true," Mayweather wrote on social media. "I'm telling McGregor, 'Let's fight in 8 oz gloves.' McGregor can fight in any brand he prefers or chooses. I'll be wearing 8 oz Grant gloves. Whatever advantage McGregor needs to feel more comfortable in the ring, I'm willing to accommodate. Let's give the boxing and MMA fans what they want to see."
McGregor is used to wearing 4-ounce fingerless gloves in his UFC bouts.
Under Nevada State Athletic Commission rules, "athletes (boxers/kick boxers) weighing-in up to and including 135 pounds must wear 8 oz gloves in competition, while athletes weighing-in over 135 pounds (junior welterweight class and above) must wear 10 oz gloves in competition. However, athletes weighing-in over 135 but (no) more than 147 may wear 8 oz gloves in competition if both athletes agree to do so in writing on their bout agreement (contract)."
Because the fight is contracted at the junior middleweight division limit of 154 pounds, Mayweather and McGregor have to wear 10-ounce gloves, according to the commission rules.
"These regulations are in place for the health and safety of the athletes, which is of the utmost importance to the commission," Nevada commission executive director Bob Bennett told ESPN on Tuesday night. "Our regulations already outline the appropriate glove size according to contracted weight of a fight."
Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs), 40, has won world titles in five weight classes and is one of the best fighters in boxing history. He is ending a nearly two-year retirement to face McGregor, the two-division UFC champion who will be boxing professionally for the first time.
ESPN's Brett Okamoto contributed to this report.
