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Showtime exec hoping Mayweather-McGregor happens in early fall

Joe Camporeale / USA TODAY

A Showtime executive remains hopeful Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather will take to the ring sooner than later.

Speaking to FightHype on Thursday, Executive Vice President of Showtime Sports Stephen Espinoza revealed the network was still hoping to see the superfight take place in the fall, although he acknowledged an early 2018 date was not outside the realm of possibility, depending on how the bout's remaining negotiations unfold.

"I think 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. Now the real negotiations start which is the Floyd side versus the Conor-UFC side," Espinoza said, according to MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew.

"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. But 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. 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 kind of deal that they’re looking for."

UFC president Dana White recently announced he and McGregor had hammered out their end of the bargain, putting the ball in Mayweather's court. While a blockbuster between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin is already set for Sept. 16, Espinoza maintained that long-awaited clash won't put a dent in the buyrate for the fight between Mayweather and McGregor, as the event's magnitude will ensure it pulls major bank whenever it goes down.

"I’m not sure it matters because we’re dealing with an event that’s massive. The only comparison that people can really make is Mayweather-Pacquiao and you could have done that any day except Super Bowl Sunday and it would’ve been massive. So I don’t think the date will make a difference commercially ...

"The Mexican holiday has a been a date that Floyd really elevated but it’s not a date that Floyd needs to make (the fight) 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."

As for exactly how many pay-per-views he expects the fight to sell, Espinoza wouldn't go as far as to predict it would break the record of four-plus million set by Mayweather's 2015 dance with Manny Pacquiao, but expected the buyrate wouldn't be anything to sneeze at.

"It’s tough to say that because even before Mayweather-Pacquiao my prediction was 3-3.5 million buys. I said after the fight that I wasn’t sure that we’d ever see some event in my lifetime to surpass it. Just because it was so big, I hesitate but at the same time, I have trouble thinking of a significant group of people who bought Mayweather-Pacquiao who would then say, 'No, I’m not gonna buy Mayweather-McGregor,' and since you are drawing from two distinct fan bases, it might give that record a run for the money."

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