Jones: McGregor can’t beat Mayweather
Jones says that, despite his admiration for McGregor, he doesn’t think the Irishman can beat Mayweather.
I really admire Conor McGregor a lot. He’s been a huge inspiration to me. But I’m also a fan of greatness – and Floyd Mayweather is unquestionably great. He’s 40 but Floyd takes care of himself, he’s been living a clean life, you’d be surprised what you can get out of yourself when you live the way Floyd does – he has all the resources to stay healthy and on top of his game. Miguel Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya, all these guys have tremendous punching power. But what they have that McGregor doesn’t is the years of experience and tightness to back up that punching power. I’m really happy for McGregor to be in this position but if I were a betting man, I’d imagine that you’d just have to side on the side of greatness.
Tyson: McGregor ‘is going to get killed’ boxing Mayweather
Tyson says McGregor will not be able to beat Mayweather under boxing rules. Tyson said that if it were him in the fight with McGregor, he would allow the Irishman to use kicks and knees in the fight.
McGregor is going to get killed boxing. I got mad because I thought they were going to use MMA rules against boxing because that’s what it’s all about: Can the boxer beat the MMA guy? McConor put his dumb–s in a position where he’s gonna get knocked out because this guy’s been doing this all his life since he was a baby. McConor can’t kick and grab and stuff so he won’t stand much of a chance…McGregor took the biggest sucker rules in the history of boxing.
Aldo: ‘McGregor was never a champion of anything’
Aldo says:
McGregor was never a champion of anything. He defeated the champion and left. A real champion has to defend (the belt). I speak for (Max) Holloway because, win or lose (against Frankie Edgar), he will be there fighting. I’m happy that Holloway is the champion. An example, someone who deserved being where he is.
Mayweather: ‘Not going to be a dull fight’
Mayweather, who has been spending time training with Anthony Joshua in Vegas, says that he and McGregor are both preparing for the fight in the same way, and fans can expect an exciting battle.
There has been a lot of trash-talkers [through his career], and at the end of the day, he’s not bad. We will rate him number two and I’m number one – he’s got heart… Am I worried about an elbow or knee? I’m going to let the referee do his job, he will be extremely fair but firm. Nevada Commission is about treating everybody fair… He’s a warrior, that’s what I do know about Conor McGregor. He’s going to fight to the end. He’s approaching this fight like I’m approaching this fight. It’s kill or be killed. Believe me when I say this: It’s not going to be a dull fight.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW5xYvKDmZu/
McGregor-Mayweather tickets on sale
Tickets for the McGregor-Mayweather fight go on sale at 6 PM BST (1 pm ET and 10 AM PT) and can be purchased through this link here. In an attempt to stop touts from snapping up multiple tickets, only two seats can be purchased per transaction. The cheapest ticket will cost £385 ($500). Those wanting a front-row seat will have to fork out £7706 ($10,000). Fans who miss out on the initial sale will be able to purchase tickets via licensed third party resale websites.
‘A Never Ending Legacy’ fan film
GreatToEntertain releases ‘A Never Ending Legacy’, a short film about McGregor, documenting his career rise. A young McGregor, starting out in UFC, talks about his dream:
My dream is to be the lightweight champion of the UFC, have more money than I know what to do with, and have a great life for my kids, my grandkids, my family, and everyone that’s come up with me.
McGregor, Draymond Green feud on Instagram
McGregor posts a photo of himself on Instagram, wearing a Golden State Warriors’ No. 23 jersey. This upsets NBA player Draymond Green, who tells McGregor:
We rocking with Floyd (Mayweather) bro not you… take that off bruh.
McGregor responds in two posts:
That’s CJ Watson mate. I don’t know who the fuck you are. No disrepect tho kid, keep hustling and stay in school.
Now ask yourself why I’m rocking C.J when I don’t know or give a fuck about basketball. I dribble heads off the floor. Not a ball. This is no game here kid.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW4djQ5lIb6/
McGregor’s choice of wearing a C.J. Watson jersey has subtext to it: Watson was linked to Mayweather’s domestic abuse case between him and former partner Josie Harris in 2010.
McGregor’s tailor releases limited edition ‘Eff You’ suit
David August tailoring releases a limited edition of McGregor’s ‘Eff You’ suit, which the fighter wore to his first press conference with Mayweather in Los Angeles. The $6500 suit is produced in exclusive wool in navy twill, with ‘explicit fighting words presented in a vertical repeat’. Other details include purple camouflage silk lining. Each suit will be signed by August. Production time us estimated at 12-15 weeks.
Infamy and notoriety isn’t always bad, especially in the case of one bold, brave, confident friend of ours who revels in pushing boundaries. For those interested in taking similar risks, we have recreated our original custom 3-piece suit produced exclusively for Conor McGregor and we are making it available as a limited-edition custom order.
Malignaggi: Eight rounds with McGregor was ‘good work’
Malignaggi talks about his eight-round sparring session with McGregor, which he describes as “good work”. Malignaggi says they were originally scheduled for six rounds, but ended up extending it to eight. He said both showboated at times, but he couldn’t guess whether McGregor will do so in the fight with Mayweather.
There was a lot of trash talking right away. A lot of fighting right away. At the end, you look back on it, it was kind of fun. I don’t have many people who can match my trash talk, but Conor definitely can. It was making it a lot of fun…To say a mixed martial artist is coming into boxing and wouldn’t be awkward is an understatement. He’s going to have his own style and set of things he does. He’s got a game plan. It’s not what people think…I’ll put it like this: He knows what he wants to do and he has a method of how he wants to get there. The mechanism of how he gets there may look, to the naked eye, ‘hmm, I don’t know about this.’ But there’s a method to his madness. He’s a thinker…He’s got some pop in the left hand, I can’t take that away from him. In boxing, especially against a guy like Floyd Mayweather, you need to devise a few more weapons, and I think that’s what Conor is working on. I think … coming into this situation already knowing Conor has a big left hand … you’re probably going to prepare for that left hand. Obviously, Conor is working on other things besides the left hand, so there can be that surprise element to it. … There’s going to be other things he needs to make you worry about, and that’s what’s being worked on in camp. He’s effective at what he’s doing.
Doubt Me Now documentary release
BT Sport releases the full Doubt Me Now documentary, which follows the build-up ahead of the McGregor-Mayweather fight, including interviews and analysis.
Top boxing coach: McGregor has ‘the fighter’s curse’
While others are focusing on McGregor’s height, boxing trainer Virgil Hunter takes note of some issues with McGregor’s physique.
One of the things that I noticed is that [McGregor’s] body – he has the waist of a model. He doesn’t have a fight trunk…he has a waist as opposed to a trunk. There’s a difference. You know, a trunk is strong, powerful, thick — not only be able to take it but get out of the way. But he has more of a model’s waist and if I’m thinking like Floyd, I’m thinking about the body because his body’s gonna be very vulnerable to body shots. Everything is sitting right there for you to touch. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of in-fighting on Floyd’s behalf…Also [McGregor] has what we call ‘The Fighter’s Curse.’ He has bone ridges over his eyes. I noticed he has cut a lot in the eyes in MMA fighting. He also has that jutting chin. So that’s a curse within itself also. But I expect him to cut over the eyes because of the bone ridges, and when those snapping punches hit you over the eyes like that he’ll get cut worse that he did in MMA. In my opinion he’ll cut up.
McGregor’s team hire referee Joe Cortez
McGregor’s team has retained the services of retired Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez. Cortez will work for six weeks with McGregor and his team, conducting eight and twelve round fight simulations – where Cortez reads the rules and initial warnings, basically recreating a scenario similar to a professional boxing match. Cortez has worked in 986 professional bouts, of which 176 were world title fights.
They (McGregor’s group) were looking for a referee with a broad knowledge of the rules…for me it’s an honor. I’m working with McGregor as a unified boxing advisor. My job is to teach him not to commit any mistakes during his fight against Mayweather Jr…This will be a fight between a boxer and a mixed martial arts specialist. As I said, my role will be to prepare McGregor so that he does not commit any breach of the rules on the day of the fight. It’s an opportunity to recreate fights and their rules. He is a fighter who is learning very fast and has previous experience in fights and is moving quite well. The only thing I can say is that it will be an interesting fight.
McGregor spars in Gucci shorts
McGregor posts a picture of himself on Instagram, in £240 Gucci swimming shorts. He captions it:
Sparring today. The shorts are Gucci.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWzcV1eA0MY/
White talks fight to Kimmel
White appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live to talk about the upcoming fight. Kimmel asks if he thinks Conor has a chance at all to beat Floyd Mayweather.
White:
I do…Floyd Mayweather is going to be 41 years old this year. If there’s a kink in that armour, it has been with southpaws. Conor McGregor is a southpaw, and he hits like a truck. He’s got 12 rounds to land that punch…When he hits people they go, and if he hits Floyd, I think he will hurt him, and when he hurts people he puts them away.
Kimmel:
Is this like a cricket team trying to win the World Series?
White:
No, normally, when boxers fight boxers, there’s a system to it. McGregor will be completely unorthodox. It’s what makes this fight so intriguing.
Alvarez will be in the front row for McGregor-Mayweather
Alvarez says that he watched all four of the stops on the McGregor-Mayweather world press tour and has booked a front row ticket to the August 26th clash.
I love fights and when they have this much build-up around them. I’m going to the fight – I’ll be there, front row. A buddy, who sold me his house, got me front row seats. We’ll be there.
On McGregor’s chances:
Conor has about three or four rounds to get this done. Within those [first] four rounds, if you don’t think Conor can knock this guy out, you’re an idiot or you just don’t know fighting because it can very well happen.
On his loss to McGregor:
I never really get annoyed with [that UFC 205 loss] myself. I’ve dealt with it, forgave myself for it and I have moved on.
McGregor nutritionist wants speed over power
Lockhart, who is working for McGregor in preparation for his fight with Mayweather, says nutritional tweaks are necessary going from one sport to the other, with the prominent change being a reduction in walking around weight.
With an MMA match, wrestling, (jiu-jitsu and) having someone on top of you, weight matters – with wrestling it does have a huge effect. With boxing, I believe speed is key. If I’m bigger than you but can’t hit you, it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. Not as much grappling, the referee pulls you apart as soon as that does happen. I want to make sure the fighter is lower in weight, the cut is not as big and the reload is not as much…For an MMA fighter to reload, they’ll gain 15, 18 pounds, which gives them that advantage (on fight night). [For] boxing, I want him actually walking in close to weight the week of the fight. Walking in, weighing in and maybe gaining a couple pounds after that.
McGregor-Mayweather ticket registration closes July 20 10pm PT
Tickets for the McGregor Mayweather fight will go on sale Monday, July 24 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. To reduce the impact of bots and scalpers, the tickets will be sold through the Ticketmaster Verified Fan program which gives registered fans a unique offer code and link to use when purchasing tickets. Only fans who receive a unique code will have the chance to purchase tickets on a first-come, first-served basis, limited to two tickets per offer code. Registration closes on Thursday, July 20 at 10 p.m. PT. Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions.
It is vital that we provide our fans with a fair opportunity to purchase tickets to this unprecedented event taking place on August 26 between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. This is a fight derived from the fans and should be available to be enjoyed by fans. It was necessary for us to partner with Ticketmaster Verified Fan for an event at this magnitude to provide everyone with a safe worry-free method to purchase tickets.
4 Days, 4 Cities behind-the-scenes video
The Mac Life releases a behind the scenes video of the McGregor-Mayweather tour, called 4 Days, 4 Nights. It follows the tour from McGregor’s arrival in LA through to the London press conference.
Let’s see what he says on the 26th. I’ll be sitting there with a nice big grin on my face, as the new king of boxing.
‘All Access’ trailer release
A trailer for the four-part Showtime McGregor-Mayweather behind-the-scenes series is released. McGregor:
I don’t give a f-ck. I’m going to storm on that stage.
showtime
McGregor inspires teens out of poverty
0 CommentsTwo orphaned teens in China are being inspired by McGregor and their love of mixed martial arts to lift themselves out of poverty. Xiao Long and Xiao Wu, both 14, are trying to follow in McGregor’s footsteps, believing his motto that “hard work” always wins over talent alone. They train at China’s Enbo Fight Club – a MMA gym in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan. The gym has taken in 400 orphaned or poverty-stricken children over the years, and several have risen in the ranks to become well-respected members of China’s underground fighting scene. The gym’s founder, En Bo, said that the children are sent to them willingly by their families back home. But the road to the top is a difficult one, and some return home after failing to make it. Xiao Long says his goal is to take part in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but for now:
What do I do here? I train, shower, sleep and repeat. I want to join the UFC and win every fight.