Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor fight venue in doubt as rapper Ice Cube books T-Mobile Arena for August 26

The 20,000-capacity arena in Las Vegas had been pencilled in to host the blockbuster fight between the 49-0 undefeated Mayweather and UFC champion McGregor

Ben Burrows
Saturday 17 June 2017 13:34 BST
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Mayweather v McGregor: Tale of the tape

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The venue for the much anticipated Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor showdown could be in doubt.

The 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas had been pencilled in to host the blockbuster fight between the 49-0 undefeated Mayweather and UFC champion McGregor on August 26.

But it has emerged that rap star Ice Cube has already booked the arena for his BIG3 basketball league on that same night and, according to TMZ, have no intention of rescheduling.

Indeed BIG3 continue to advertise tickets for the event on that date.

That said both the Mayweather and McGregor camps are said to confident a compromise can be reached, according to The Sun.

The fight is expected to be one of richest in history with pay-per-view revenue likely to gross tens of millions of dollars. The fight comes less than a month before Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez meet in a highly anticipated fight Sept. 16 that could rival it for pay-per-view buys.

“As with every Mayweather and McGregor fight part of the appeal is the spectacle and outsize personalities who are participating in it,” Showtime Sports' Stephen Espinoza said.

There has not yet been any information on how much tickets for the fight will cost, although as with the pay-per-view price, ticket costs will likely rival those charged for the Mayweather v Pacquaio fight.

Ticket prices would likely be similar to the 'Fight of the Century'. Tickets for the previous fight cost between $1,500 and $7,500 and were notoriously difficult to purchase, because of the amount handed out to sponsors, promoters and celebrities.

The tickets made available to the public sold old within seconds of going on sale, with tickets immediately appearing on ticket exchange websites for as much as $85,000.

The most expensive, priced at $128,705 (£85,348), were floor side seats.

Mayweather's fight against McGregor has already been tipped to become the most lucrative fight in the history of sport, with some describing it as the world’s first billion-dollar fight.

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