Retired former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (50-0, 27 KOs) has confirmed the statements from UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who stated in a recent interview that he's scheduled to start training Mayweather for a potential run in mixed martial arts.

Mayweather, 41, announced his retirement from boxing after stopping UFC superstar Conor McGregor in the tenth round of a boxing match last August at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was Mayweather's first fight in two years, while McGregor was making his pro debut in a boxing ring.

Since that contest, Mayweather has teased on social media - with photos and videos - that he was mulling the idea of jumping in the octagon.

Mayweather, who is very interested in sharpening up his MMA skills, accepted an open offer to be trained by Woodley.

In fact, Mayweather has already started early training - and he gives it a 50-50 possibility that he'll make his MMA debut by the end of the year.

“I started training already,” Mayweather said to Fighthype.com. “Not the physical part – endurance, as far as moving around. So far, I’ve started running. …

“I’m thinking about fighting in the MMA, I’ve thought about it. … I started training in Miami. I look forward to fighting probably by the end of the year. We don’t know. Right now it’s a 50-50 (chance), not a hundred percent. But we’ve started training.”

"Me and Woodley have spoke to each other on numerous occasions. We talked. We said we’re going to start working out, as far as he’s got a great hand game already. I’m going to be working with different guys in the jiu-jitsu world. My wrestling game, I’m going to be working with guys with the wrestling. My kicking game, I’m going to be working with guys for the kicking game. Before I get in the octagon, I’ve got to be well rounded, all around the board.”

“Fighting is not nothing new for me. Fighting barefoot is something new, but fighting is nothing new for me. The thing is this — (say I’m) fighting a guy that has some unbelievable jiu-jitsu skills, unbelievable wrestling skills, but the thing is this: His chances of getting to me, I mean, the percentage of his chances getting to me to lock up with me, he has to come in first. But he may lock up with me, and he may get wrapped up in certain ways. You don’t know how things could play out or how things could happen. With MMA, anything can happen. It’s brutal. It’s very, very brutal.”

Mayweather views himself as the biggest name in MMA - but he doesn't expect a rematch with McGregor to take place in the cage, because the two of them would be far apart in weight.

“I know right now I’m the biggest name in MMA,” Mayweather said. “Hands down, I know this. And the second biggest name is Conor McGregor.”

“Conor McGregor, tough, vicious competitor. Of course, just like he feels he got dynamite hands with the 4-ounce gloves on, I feel like I got dynamite power with the 4-ounce gloves on. It’d be hard for me and Conor McGregor to fight, because if I was to fight in the MMA, I would have to fight at 145 (pounds),” Mayweather said. “The weight class I would fight at is 145. … In MMA it would be totally different, because we don’t have no shoes on, and with 4-ounce gloves on, you think I’m fast with 8-ounce gloves on, imagine how fast I’d be with 4-ounce gloves on.”