Dana White confident that Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor numbers could top pay-per-view records

White says that the Las Vegas showdown could top the reported $600m haul from the 2015 showdown between the American and Manny Pacquiao

Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has predicted that Conor McGregor’s boxing match with Floyd Mayweather could top the reported $600m haul from the 2015 showdown between the American and Manny Pacquiao.

“This is the biggest event ever in combat sports history,” White said on a conference call, on Wendesday evening. “This is the most distributed event in pay-per-view history.

“This thing is in like 200 countries on pay-per-view. Boxing doesn't usually do a lot of digital. If you're in Manhattan or on a desert island somewhere, if you have Wifi you can buy this fight.”

Meanwhile, McGregor said he is happy about the switch to lighter gloves for his Aug. 26 fight against the undefeated boxer, claiming that his opponent will now struggle to make it past the second round.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday, just 10 days before the hotly anticipated Las Vegas fight, approved requests from Mayweather and McGregor to wear eight-ounce gloves rather than 10-ounce ones.

“That was a good thing for me. I'm very happy with it,” McGregor told reporters .

Mayweather had nearly all of his 49 professional wins using eight-ounce gloves, which may accentuate one of his advantages - his hand speed.

McGregor preferred the lighter gloves since he is used to the fingerless, four-ounce gloves typically worn in MMA.

“That's it in a nutshell, you've got pros and cons on both sides,” he said. “Favours us both in certain ways.

“I believe now that the gloves are eight ounces, I don't believe he makes it out of the second round,” McGregor added.

“Part of me ... kind of wants to show some skills and dismantle him that way. (But) I do not foresee him absorbing the blows in the first two rounds.”