Berto: If McGregor catches Mayweather ‘he’ll be the king of the world’
Berto, who went 12 rounds with Mayweather in 2015, says McGregor has the confidence to be able to stand up to Mayweather and win.
It’s the fight game. Something can happen. He catches [Mayweather], no-one gonna be able to tell Conor anything. He’s gonna be king of the world. He’s special as well. I’ve never seen an UFC or MMA fighter — and I’ve been watching for a long time — soak in and soak up that atmosphere and be able to soak in that pressure. And still look so relaxed, and capitalize on that. [He should] Just do what he does. Just stay sharp. Stay confident, within that arena.
.@AndreBerto, the last guy to fight Floyd Mayweather, thinks there's a way Conor could beat Floyd and become the "king of the world." pic.twitter.com/jeLP4118E5
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) June 22, 2017
McGregor nominated for 2017 ESPY award
McGregor is nominated for “Best International Athlete” and “Best Fighter” at the 2017 ESPY awards. Opposing him in the votes for Best International Athlete (see online votes here) are Canelo Alvarez (boxing), Usain Bolt (track and field), Katinka Hosszu (swimming), and Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer). In the Best Fighter category McGregor is up against UFC champion Demetrious Johnson — ranked one slot above McGregor in the pound-for-pound list — as well as boxing’s Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin, and Andre Ward.
Mayweather works out in California gym
Mayweather appears in a video, working out for four hours at the Ten Goose Boxing Gym in Van Nuys, California in preparation for his fight with McGregor.
You name him, I beat him. I can get a black eye, I can get a bloody nose, at the end of the day I don’t have a bad payday, and I don’t have a bad day under the lights.
Chiesa: It ‘sucks’ McGregor is holding up entire lightweight division
Chiesa says he’s annoyed at McGregor holding up the Lightweight Division.
We don’t need to beat around the bush. Conor’s doing what he’s doing is f-cking retarded. What Conor is doing is ridiculous. It’s a tricky decision, and it’s all tricky because we’re sitting and waiting for one guy to do something, and you’ve got 10 guys spring loaded to do something. Like we’re all gunning to be world champion and it sucks just having to sit back and wait to see what this guy does…By the time the Floyd [Mayweather] fight happens, his belt will have not moved for a year. This division has already been plagued by delays. Look when [Anthony] Pettis was champion, how many fights we had. We had none. There’s never been an interim title. Once again the lightweight division is backlogged so it kind of sucks. It really does…I’ll maintain my relevance, I’ll go up to 170 [pounds] and fight guys until Conor starts making moves and then I’ll come back down. The lightweight division is the most competitive in the world and it’s a shame that we don’t get the chance to showcase it because we have a champion that’s sitting around. As upset as I am in the state of the lightweight division, I’d probably do the same thing if I were Conor and I had $100 million waiting for me. I don’t blame him for doing what he’s doing but it sucks for the rest of us.
Gym mural makers want to inspire McGregor
Subset, the company that created the mural of McGregor punching Mayweather that has formed the backdrop of two recent Instagram posts by the Irish fighter, explains how it came about.
The artwork is a gift for John [Kavanagh] which will aid Conor with the visualization of his success. As it was a surprise, we were required to produce it once he finished a training session on Sunday evening and before he began another training session on Monday night. We filmed his arrival and reaction to the artwork and we are currently in the process of making a short video using the footage. This will be posted online in the coming days.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVjPIRdDmIp/
McGregor to host Glasgow event
McGregor will host an evening with fans at an event in Glasgow’s Armadillo venue on September 29. Tickets will be available for the event from www.sec.co.uk, ranging from £45.40 to £1,100.
180 Million Dollar Dance fight promo
Mike Fight Promo releases a trailer for the McGregor-Mayweather fight.
Conlan: ‘It would probably be bad for boxing if Conor won, but f-ck it, I’m an Irishman. I hope he does it.’
Conlan says he would love to be on the undercard for McGregor’s fight with Mayweather, but thinks it’s unlikely he will be chosen.
I sent Conor a message saying, ‘get me on that card’, but he hasn’t replied to me yet! But nah, I think it’s impossible. At the end of the day it’s Floyd’s fight, and Floyd and Top Rank have history. It’s unlikely, but you know, anything is possible in boxing. And that’s the truth – anything is possible in this sport. I’ll be there at the fight anyway. Conor’s asked me to be a part of his camp. But people keep saying that I’m going to come down and give him all this boxing advice. I won’t be doing that. He’s got people there who are paid to do that, and anyway, I don’t know how to beat Floyd Mayweather! It’s a bit crazy. He’s only asked me to be part of the camp to experience the big fight atmosphere and what it’s going to be like.
I’m happy for Conor as an Irishman and a sportsperson. He’s come into this sport with his story, being on the brew [dole] and stuff, and those first couple of paychecks. Now he’ll be making 100% the biggest purse for a pro debut in boxing. It’s f-cking crazy! It’s mental stuff. He’s going to cash out with a lot of money in his pocket, and fair play to him. You know yourself, some people are realists. But Irish people, no matter what, you’ll back your own. Fuck’s sake, we think Ireland are going to win the World Cup every time we’re in it. Like, there’s always that chance that gets people dreaming. To be honest, it would probably be bad for boxing if Conor won, but f-ck it, I’m an Irishman. I hope he does it.
Portal uses ‘Chaotic Card Drill’ to train McGregor’s reflexes
Portal releases a video of McGregor using the ‘Chaotic Card Drill’ in training with McGregor. McGregor has to hit playing cards that Portal throws towards him.
Using the chaotic trajectory of a flying card to keep [McGregor] sharp, adaptive and responsive to an unexpected situation, with focus on abandoning original prediction and installing a secondary one in a fraction of a second – an ability that often makes the difference between the BEST and just GOOD.
SBG Gym founder: McGregor has the advantage over Mayweather
Thornton, who founded SBG Gym in 1992 and who trained Kavanagh, talks about Kavanagh’s influence on the gym, and about his influence on McGregor.
Conor has the advantage as the underdog. It’s a role he occupies well. He has the advantage as the much younger man. Conor has the advantage as the underdog. It’s a role he occupies well. He has the advantage as the much younger man. He has the advantage as a southpaw, something that’s troubled Mayweather before. He has the advantage in that, coming from an MMA background he may bring some tactics and strategies Mayweather is unfamiliar with. And above all else, he has the advantage in that he has a coach named John Kavanagh in his corner. Everything John’s done has been good for everyone in SBG. It’s a loyal tribe, and he’s an impressive general.
Kavanagh, Roddy and Lobov will be at McGregor’s ringside
Roddy, McGregor’s striking coach, says that he will be on duty at McGregor’s side during the Mayweather fight, and that the fighter will also be supported by Lovov, his sparring partner, and coach Kavanagh.
At the moment, it’s going to be me, John, possibly Artem and I think there’s four. Obviously he’ll have to get his own cut man and stuff like that. He hasn’t sorted that just yet. But it’ll definitely be myself, John and Artem at the moment…We’re not bringing anybody in as of yet, but who knows down the line…We’re gonna head over the states in the next couple of weeks. But at the moment, we’re in Dublin, we’re all working together. We came up with a game plan that we think can shock the world and we’re gonna stick to that for the time being.
Triple H invites McGregor and Mayweather to Monday Night Raw
WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Triple H invites McGregor and Mayweather to come to WWE Raw and ‘show the world why they’re the man’.
All sports is entertainment, news is entertainment today, it is just the way of the world. Everything is entertainment, that is what people do with their time. This is no different…I think there is an interest level there. Can a world-class boxer, probably the best ever, can he stand in the ring with an MMA guy? And can that MMA guy bring his striking skills up to the level of somebody like Floyd Mayweather? The one thing it will be, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is entertaining. One thing Floyd Mayweather is, he is entertaining. Conor McGregor is entertaining. You [could] say it is sports entertainment and, if they want to really showcase what they can do, I would invite both guys to come to Monday Night Raw. There is no bigger platform that they could have to show the world and tell the world, who they are, and why they are the man.
Rogan: If Conor McGregor headkicked Floyd ‘he would be a god damn folk hero’
On his podcast, Rogan ponders the consequences of McGregor kicking Mayweather in the head.
[Kicking him in the head] would be f-cked up. There’s probably some stipulations in the contract that say, ‘you can’t get him in an armbar or choke him.’.. Could you imagine? He would be a god damn folk hero. If they got in close and Floyd was shucking and juking on the outside and he threw a jab to cover up a left high kick and that left high kick necks him? Just clang, and you see Floyd go limp – and he would go limp. He’s never been high kicked like that. Jesus, that would be crazy. Would it be worth it? It would but it would f-ck everything up because no one would ever trust another fighter from MMA to ever fight a boxer in a boxing match again.
‘I am a filthy Irish animal’
McGregor posts an image to Twitter.
I am a filthy Irish animal
I am a filthy Irish animal. pic.twitter.com/n2dETi40b2
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 20, 2017
King: Conor McGregor is a racist bigot
In an op-ed in The New York Daily News, Sean King, a Black Lives Matter activist who has come under criticism from some who say he is a white person posing as a person of color, calls McGregor a bigot.
Mayweather and McGregor’s feud was fueled in part by racism. After Mayweather complained in January 2016 that McGregor got favorable treatment because he is white, McGregor responded, “don’t ever bring my race into my success again,” and wrote how Irish people have been “oppressed our entire existence.”…Leading up to his 2015 match against Brazilian fighter Jose Aldo, McGregor repeatedly resorted to disgustingly bigoted attacks. In a reference to colonialism, McGregor said, “If this was a different time, I would invade his favela on horseback and kill anyone that was not fit to work.” McGregor later said, “What I really want to do is turn his favela into a Reebok sweatshop.” McGregor also said of Aldo, in an apparent joke targeting Latinos, “I think I’m going to have him come and clean up my airplane.”Any one of those comments should have been enough to have every mainstream company he works with drop his endorsements. Being a fighter is not a license for bigotry without consequence…In a day and age where we need principled people to speak out on racism, bigotry, and discrimination, Conor McGregor does the exact opposite, instead mainstreaming those things without consequence.
McGregor gets training in Rocky 4 parody video
UFC Fighter Edits releases a video of McGregor training for the Mayweather fight, based on the training montage from Rocky IV.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVVo-eTgHWY/
Mayweather and McGregor to go on promo tour
While on The MMA Hour Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions talks about the upcoming McGregor-Mayweather fight.
Both sides were able to walk away from this deal, and everyone was happy. There was nothing contentious at all…Floyd Mayweather is is the A side in everything he does…We’re planning a tour. Those details will be forthcoming.
Roddy: McGregor to floor Mayweather mid fight
Speaking on The MMA Hour, McGregor’s striking coach says the Irishman will be able to beat Mayweather.
I think he’s gonna put him away. He’s gonna KO him. It’ll take a couple of rounds…Conor does these exceptional things all the time. If he says he’s gonna knock him out, then he’ll knock him out..I think mid-fight. We need to be able to see what Mayweather is gonna come in with…Conor has an exceptional ability to read fighters. Read where they’re going, and read what their gonna do…Look, there’s no doubt in my mind. It’s gonna be one of the most insane fights ever…[Gloves are not a problem]. Conor hits like a middleweight…He’s got cat-like reflexes. He’s so quick on his slips and pulls, and he’s very accurate as well.
Manager: McGregor a free agent for megafight sponsorship deals
While talking on The MMA Hour, Attar, McGregor’s manager, says that the fighter is a free agent when it comes to sponsorship deals for the fight with Mayweather.
Well we let a lot of our deals lapse, so there’s a lot of categories that we’ve been negotiating with reebok, and other brands. He’s currently a free agent as it relates to athletic apparel. We’re still in discussions with Reebok and other brands…If he signs with Nike, he can sign with Nike for this fight…It’s definitely a great opportunity for Conor and for any brands we decide to align with.
Manager: McGregor wants to return to MMA after Mayweather fight
Attar, McGregor’s manager, confirms that McGregor will return to MMA.
Conor is a very ambitious young man. That’s the key two words: Young man. He has a lot more that he wants to accomplish athletically, and as a businessman. He definitely wants to fight again in MMA. If all things go well and he feels good then it could potentially happen at the end of the year. There’s no guarantee, but it’s definitely in his plans to return to MMA.
As for the Mayweather fight:
Everyone that’s doubting him – it’s a mistake. On August 26th I’m confident he’s going to go out and shock the world…I think wer’re gonna stop him, but you’re gonna have to tune in august 26 and find out for yourself.