McGregor declares he'll knock Mayweather's head off

Conor McGregor has unleashed some fighting words on Floyd Mayweather, declaring he will knock his head "clean off his shoulders" if the two end up fighting.

As negotiations drag on between the pair, and contradictory reports emerge from both camps, the Irishman showed he has no shortage of confidence during his recent trip to Las Angeles.

"Honestly, my fist is bigger than his head," he told GQ Style.

"I sleep people. I put people unconscious. I'm stating facts. If I hit a man, his head is gonna go into the bleachers.

"You understand that? If I crack that little head of his, it's gonna go clean off his shoulder and up into the bleachers."

A report in the Irish Sun earlier in the week indicated the pair had already agreed to terms for the fight, while Mayweather was quoted as telling ESPN's Stephen A Smith that the fight was "very, very close".

However Mayweather seemed to distance himself from those reports in a statement posted to Twitter.

“There seems to be several rumours floating around media recently however let the record show, there hasn’t been any deals made in regards to a fight between myself and any other fighters,” Mayweather wrote.

"I am happily retired and enjoying life at this time. If any changes are to come, be sure that I will be the first to let the world know."

Around that same time, McGregor posted several photos of himself in Las Vegas.

In one, he wrote, “I am in Las Vegas. Floyd has retired on my arrival.”

But Mayweather’s next Twitter post at about 7pm (AEDT) on Wednesday shows what’s really going on, and it’s hardly a surprise.

Mayweather is playing the part of the puppeteer, manipulating the media and the public, building interest in the fight and guaranteeing himself a massive payday for what he believes will be easy work.