Floyd Mayweather talks up Conor McGregor as ticket sales flag for their contrived contest

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor - talking it up. Photo / AP.

This wouldn't have anything to do with making money, by chance.

Floyd Mayweather is talking up Conor McGregor's chances for their boxing clash in Las Vegas on August 27.

Boxing legend Mayweather, an overwhelming favourite against the mixed martial arts star, told ESPN that McGregor posed a legitimate challenge.

"He's a lot younger. When you look at myself and Conor McGregor on paper, he's taller, has a longer reach, he's a bigger man from top to bottom. He's a lot younger, so youth is on his side," Mayweather said of the 29-year-old McGregor.

"And I've been off a couple of years. And I'm in my 40s. So, if you look at everything on paper, it leans toward Conor McGregor."

The ESPN interviewer asked why Mayweather wasn't dissing McGregor, Mayweather said: "I'm older. I'm not the same fighter I was two years ago. I'm not the same fighter I was five years ago. I lost a step."

Mayweather's last knockout victory was six years ago and he said: ""I used to have a 90 percent knockout ratio...it's obvious I slipped somewhere. Something has taken a toll on my career."

There were hints of the famous brashness though, when he said: "I didn't say I couldn't fight. I just said I'm not the same Floyd Mayweather I once was."

With ticket prices high - they range from nearly $700 to more than $13,000 - sales have been sluggish for the manufactured sporting contest.

Mayweather is not only one of the great boxers in history. He is nicknamed "Money" for his relentless pursuit of mega pay days and this has re-shaped how others operate in the fight game.

Interest in the Mayweather-McGregor fight is apparently flagging with ESPN reporting this week that there are a lot of tickets being sold in the secondary market.