Mayweather wants McGregor fight in June

LONDON — Floyd Mayweather has declared himself “out of retirement” to fight Conor McGregor and demanded the Irish mixed martial arts champion commit to a crossover bout in June. “I’m not ducking or dodging anyone,” American Mayweather told British media. “I’m only coming out of retirement for one person and that’s Conor McGregor. “We don’t need to waste no time. We need to make this ... happen quickly. Let’s get it on in June.” McGregor has been challenging Mayweather, who retired in 2015 with a 49-0 record, to a fight for months. The two sides have yet to reach terms and have a number of major hurdles to overcome. Mayweather has asked for a guaranteed $100 million to make the fight happen, with $15 million going to McGregor, while UFC president Dana White has talked of $25 million to each plus pay-per-view money. McGregor, the biggest pay-per-view draw in mixed martial arts, is contracted to UFC and the organization would have to approve any fight. The pair will also have to agree to a format, which Mayweather insisted would be straight boxing. “We cannot mix up the rules and regulations because I’m the A side,” he said. “He called me out. You call me out, then, we have to go by my rules. If I called you out then we’d have to go by your rules. It’s always boxing.” The pair have done their part to drum up interest, exchanging a number of verbal barbs at public appearances. Mayweather reiterated his claim that McGregor was all talk and no action. “Conor McGregor, stop ducking and diving Floyd Mayweather. Tell the UFC to let’s make this fight happen. I don’t want the UFC to look bad.” Claressa Shields wins fight in 4th round of milestone night In Detroit, Claressa Shields gave herself rave reviews. Shields became the first woman to headline a fight card on premium cable, stopping Szilvia Szabados in the fourth round Friday night in their fight for the NABF middleweight championship on Showtime. Referee Harvey Dock stopped the fight 1:30 into the fourth, after Shields had landed a strong left-handed punch to the head of Szabados. “I put on a good show. I used some good technique. I wasn’t just out there brawling with her,” Shields said. “I showed my skill, I showed my power, and I showed how I box like Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis mixed together.” Shields (2-0) controlled the fight from the outset in front of a boisterous crowd in her home state of Michigan. The two-time Olympic champion from Flint landed 95 punches to 11 by Szabados. When it came to power punches, the margin was 88-10. Szabados (15-9) did well to avoid being knocked down. The Hungarian was still on her feet when the fight was stopped, and she shook her head a bit in apparent disbelief that it was over. Shields said she turned pro in part because she wanted to help women’s boxing grow, and her brash-but-engaging attitude could help her become the type of star the sport definitely could use. In the co-main event, Nikolay Potapov (17-0-1) of Russia defeated Antonio Nieves (17-1-2) of Cleveland in a split decision for the NABO bantamweight title. Earlier on the undercard, Wesley Tucker (14-0) of Toledo, Ohio, outpointed Ed Williams (12-2-1) of Detroit in an eight-round welterweight bout, and Joshua Greer Jr. (12-1-1) of Chicago stopped James Gordon Smith (11-1) of Detroit in the sixth round of a bantamweight fight.