Mayweather: Malignaggi was my mole in McGregor’s camp
Mayweather and Malignaggi appear on a video mocking McGregor. During the video Malignaggi repeated the word “suckers” numerous times, and brought a fight poster for Mayweather to sign. Mayweather obliges, but also crossed McGregor’s face out. Mayweather says that Malignaggi acted as a mole in the camp.
Paulie has always been my friend…listen, this is going to stay in Paulie’s family forever…don’t worry, Paulie…me and Paulie gonna stay at the house and talk about strategy…thank you for going over there like I asked you to do,
McGregor on Mayweather race comments: ‘Look, what’s his history?’
After Mayweather talks about McGregor’s comments on race:
It’s all about treating people like you want to be treated. To get respect, you must give respect. He totally disrespected black women, he called black people monkeys and then he spoke disrespectfully to my daughter’s mother and he spoke disrespectfully to my daughter. I’m not going to stoop that low and speak about his child.
McGregor counters:
He’s talking about disrespecting women and all, you know what I mean? I mean, hold the f**king phone here. Look, what’s his history? And I didn’t bring that up before the tour and I didn’t need to and I didn’t want to…There’s a gentlemen’s agreement on some things, you know what I mean? But hey, it’s a ruthless business. So, I’ve been ruthless too. You know what I mean? So it’s what we expect.
Malignaggi: McGregor controversy ‘was planned’
Malignaggi says he believes the controversy over his ‘pushdown’ photo was planned
I think it was planned,. When I looked back [at what happened], I realized that everything was probably planned from the start. I talked bad about Conor six months ago, I wanted to get the fight, but that happens a lot among boxers. We talk, we try to get the fight. So, when he called me, I thought, Conor already talked bad about me, but since we won’t fight it’s like, hey, we’re friendly to each other, we hug each other — it’s business. If you fight, you fight. If you don’t fight, you understand that it’s [been] business. So, I’m thinking, I’ve been through this before, I’m going to [join the] camp and we’re going to be cool…For me, I wasn’t mad at anything but I started seeing things, and I started getting mad. This guy is doing things on purpose […]. One day, he made me come to the gym at 3:30. We’re supposed to box at 9. I show up at 3:30, no boxing. And I can’t work out because before, Conor has to work out, and I can’t watch him work out. So why do I have to come to the gym at 3:30 [if] we’re supposed to box at 9!? Just to tell me I can’t work out […]? I cannot do this every day for three weeks.
He predicts a ‘dirty’ fight:
I see Conor being very dirty in the beginning [to have Mayweather] confused. A mixed martial artist, when he gets close, what does he do? He grabs you. I was boxing [McGregor on the inside]. He doesn’t know how to fight inside […]. Outside, Floyd is too good. Inside, Conor doesn’t know how to fight, so what is he going to do? After a few rounds, he’s going to realize he’s dead — just like with Nate Diaz.
McGregor mocks Mayweather’s ‘I hope the referee keeps it fair’ comment
After Mayweather, during his press conference with McGregor, says:
I hope the referee keeps it fair.
McGregor responds:
All I heard was, ‘Please, ref, keep me safe.’ I may make him beg me to follow the rules here. I believe he’ll be unconscious within one round. … I don’t see him surviving. I’ll flatten him. … After that, I’m starting to think I’ll toy with him.
Malignaggi faces off with McGregor: ‘Did you bring your balls, Conor?’
McGregor and Malignaggi confront each other outside the McGregor-Mayweather press conference. Malignaggi:
Did you bring your balls, Conor?
McGregor:
I saw him, and I said, ‘What are you afraid of a faceoff today?’ He didn’t say anything, and the big ghouls he surrounds himself with started pushing and shoving, and then it was a pushing and shoving contest. … He can’t walk around the place without being surrounded by these donkeys, [but] look, he’s in the ring on his own. I’m already the true king of fighting. I’ll be the king of boxing now, also.
Conor & Paulie get into it. @PaulMalignaggi tells @TheNotoriousMMA "don't forget to bring your balls" #mayweathervsmcgregor @espnlasvegas pic.twitter.com/NjBRRxkqYI
— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) August 22, 2017
McGregor: ‘I’m determined to stun Floyd Mayweather for my son’
McGregor says that fatherhood has made him more ruthless.
Fatherhood is such an amazing thing, because it made me just realise what’s important. If anything, I feel the pressure is off my shoulders even more so. It’s been beautiful and an eye-opening experience. As a fighter [I’m] a little more ruthless maybe, a little bit more certain and a little bit more dangerous — if I am being honest — because there is another one I am fighting for.
The @TheNotoriousMMA tells @Eurosport recent fatherhood has him more focused and ruthless than ever | via @Eurosport_UK @EurosportAUS pic.twitter.com/uAVzwNRcSA
— Aaron S. Lee (@aaronshanelee) August 23, 2017
McGregor-Mayweather face off at final press conference
McGregor and Mayweather hold their final press conference, and second to last face-off before the fight, from KA Theater at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Ferguson: McGregor has improved as a boxer
Ferguson says he took the fight against Kevin Lee because he felt that winning an interim title would force the hand of the lightweight champ Conor McGregor and put him into the pole position to fight for the undisputed belt when the Irishman returns from his foray into the world of boxing after August 26th.
As far as what Conor is at, if he does ‘MayMac’ and he wins or loses it doesn’t matter, he’s going to have to defend his belt against the person that has the interim title. It’s defend or vacate. I mean that’s what makes sense to me because that’s the way the rules have always went. You have to fight the one who has the title, to unify the titles. If I’m going to have an interim title, I want to fight Conor…If he wants the trilogy with Nate he has to drop the belt. He can’t hold onto the belt and do all of that other stuff. He did it for a whole entire year, you had your kid, that’s great, now let’s fight…I’ve moved on from calling him ‘McNuggets’ because his game has gotten a little bit better. His boxing has gotten better. When he throws punches he has learned to block his face a little bit better. He’s got his sh*t together as far as his hands.
Mayweather: McGregor will miss weight
Mayweather says McGregor will not make match weight of 154 pounds. If McGregor does not make weight, he’ll be subject to a ‘heavy fine’.
Conor McGregor is extremely heavy right now. I think he’s 164, so he’s still got 10 pounds to go. I mean ya’ll get that extra money if you can’t make the weight. Get them extra millions ready, Dana! Or the UFC, get them extra millions ready, um, or somebody gotta pay a fine. But he gotta get that weight down. A true champion, you know, like I said before, a true champion is disciplined and very responsible. But, you know, we’ll see…I don’t think he’s gonna make the weight. Even if he do make the weight, that’s even better. But if he don’t make the weight, we still gonna fight but it’s gonna be a heavy fine, I’ma get me that money!
Bellew: ‘There’s not a chance in hell that McGregor needs just one punch’
Boxing champion Tony Bellew writes that McGregor will need multiple effective techniques to beat Mayweather.
The only way I can see Conor McGregor causing trouble is if he jumps on Floyd Mayweather, non-stop punching. That is the only slither of a case I can make for a McGregor win. But, how long could he keep doing that before he gets countered? Getting close in the boxing ring and octagon is completely different. When you get close in the octagon you’re allowed to hit and hold…Looking at the Paulie Malignaggi clips, it looks like McGregor was using a lot of slaps and uppercuts on the inside – that’s not going to work. Mayweather will tuck up and come back fast and vicious. A counter left hook would smash into McGregor’s temple…And on that Malignaggi ‘knockdown’ – it doesn’t matter anyway. That’s sparring…The gym does not mean anything. It gets you ready for when you’re under the lights, that’s it…His punch looked good, straight with some power. But listen, Mayweather is the best ever and McGregor was found out against Nate Diaz in stand-up…Diaz did not stop McGregor on the floor. Yeah, he choked him out, but he got him to the floor by consistently punching him in the face…Are you trying to tell me Conor McGregor hits harder than Alvarez, than Shane Mosley, than De la Hoya, than Hatton – the list is endless. There’s not a chance in hell that McGregor needs just one punch.
Roddy: ‘We believe we can shock the world’
McGregor is ready ‘to shock the world’ says his striking coach Roddy. Roddy says McGregor has no doubt in his belief that he can create one of the greatest upsets of all time in a boxing ring.
I think there will be a little bit of feeling out most definitely when the bell rings. I’ve been with Conor many, many years now and we have brought in everybody over the years. Check out this guy, Conor. World class Thai boxer. Never been touched by anybody. Conor goes in, he throws a few shots, figures the guy out, he reads the patterns and then knows exactly what they are going to do. He knows before they know. Then he puts the shots in that apply and they fall over…Ok, Conor, we’ve got this tae kwon do guy. He moves a totally different way. He does this and does that. He goes in, moves around with him, figures him out, puts the shots in that apply, guy falls over…We’ve done this with amateur boxers, professional boxers. Every single person that has walked in the gym and I’ve watched him spar, it takes him a minute or two. It depends how good they are. But it takes no more than a minute for him to figure them out and put the shots in that apply. When you see this happen over and over again, you can’t doubt him.
Kavanagh: ‘I expect Conor to go in there and completely dominate’
In an interview with The Mac Life, Kavanagh says McGregor is ready
He has gone at a complete new level, now that he’s been able to focus on the hand techniques in MMA, what we call boxing…I feel this is a very interesting fight, in terms of both camps have such high expectations. A lot of times you go to an MMA fight and you expect to win, but there’s a possibility of losing. [Mayweather’s team] don’t expect Conor to land a punch. They don’t expect to win, they expect it to be an absolute walk in the park…and I can honestly say, I don’t expect this to be the hardest fight of all time for Conor. I expect him to go in there and completely dominate. So one of us is living in a delusion..I really find it hard to imagine anything else other than Conor really putting on a clinic, and really destroying him.
Lobov: Nurmagomedov’s popularity in Russia ‘because of McGregor’
Lobov says Nurmagomedov is only popular in Russia because of McGregor.
It would be very hard to say who would be the bigger draw in Russia between Khabib and Conor. I honestly feel that Khabib is as big as he is in Russia because of Conor McGregor. A lot of people in Russian aren’t happy with how Khabib has been behaving with all of his pullouts. This isn’t a very manly thing to do, not showing up for a fight. In Russia, the people have been brought up tough. It used to be the Soviet Union. The thing everybody thinks of when they think about Russia is how tough the people are. When they see a fighter continuously pulling out, that’s something that they really don’t like. Then they look at a guy like Conor who always shows up and does what he says he’s going to do. That really resonates with the Russian public.
Ad Week Cover
Yaccarino appears on the cover of Ad Week, titled, ‘Wonder Woman’. 
Mayweather Sr.: We’ll ‘sue’ Conor McGregor if he fights dirty
Mayweather Senior says that they will sue McGregor if he ‘fights dirty’.
It’s gonna stop right there…And guess what? Then we’re gonna throw a big suit at him…There’s enough people around here suing everybody for nothing, and this is something that you can be screwed for. Like I said many times before, Floyd is better. But I’m saying here now, he’s training good enough for a guy like this. Conor, first of all, showed the whole world his egg, and I think you know what I’m talking about…And guess what, it ain’t nothing.
Bayliss to Mayweather Snr: Conor will knock your son out
During an interview with Mayweather Snr., Bayliss places a bet that McGregor will beat Mayweather:
Snr: The only thing I’m gonna tell you. I’m not gonna tell you that Conor McGregor is gonna get knocked out, but he’s gonna get his ass whooped…[But] I don’t even think it will last 12 rounds…At the end of this fight (raises hands in winning pose)…a’int no diggity, aint no doubt.
Bayliss: I’ll bet you a suit. Conor will knock your son out, because it’s the only way Conor’s gonna win this fight. Your son is going to underestimate what’s about to hit him, both in will and skill. This guy’s crazy…He’s gonna come at your son in ways you can’t even imagine.
Snr: That’s the way Floyd like ’em.
https://youtu.be/N2CibXsuDb8
Weidman predicts McGregor-Mayweather trilogy fight
Former UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, predicts that McGregor will win his fight against Mayweather, but that there will be further rematches.
Yeah, I mean I think I have [McGregor] winning now. I think he’s gonna win. That’s my last prediction. Third-round knockout. It’s just a gut feeling, just I’m feeling it. I think it’s gonna happen and then they’re going to have a second fight, Mayweather’s gonna win that and then next thing you know they got a Conor verses Floyd trilogy, and everybody’s spent 300 bucks, which means 500 million for each of them.
Diaz: If I was McGregor I’d beat Malignaggi’s ass
Diaz talks about boxers who are criticizing McGregor.
And now all the boxers are criticizing Conor, and Conor won’t get embarrassed, but it’s a real arrogant thing to say…Sparring with some clown from wherever…I’ll beat that guy’s ass too…That guy was on the internet, talking sh-t about him the other day? What kind of sparring partner have you got? I’d shove that guy in the gym and beat his ass if I was Conor…I’d box him in the ring, whoop his ass, and then throw him down at the end…Most people in MMA can’t box. Need a lot of work. Boxers are clowns sometimes…I’m never taking the MMA fighters’over the boxers’ side, when it comes to punching…but we’re talking real fighters now you one-dimensional boxing f-cks.
Hatton: Referee Robert Byrd could prove crucial in McGregor vs Mayweather
Hatton, who was beaten by Mayweather in the tenth round, and believes that Joe Cortez, who was refereeing, didn’t allow him the opportunity to fight on the inside, says the decisions of the referee will be crucial in McGregor’s fight against Mayweather.
If the referee lets him have a crack. I think when I look back on it (my fight with Mayweather) I hope the referee lets Conor have a go. I’m not saying that I’d have won the [Mayweather] fight anyway if the referee had let me had a go. All you want is a fair crack of the whip. I think he must be thinking the same as me. Just let me have a fair shout and let me have a go at him. If he lets him have a fight with his strength as well, I think with Floyd at 40 years of age – we might see him dwindle a lot. If Conor can put his foot on the gas from there on in he might get a late stoppage or maybe even a points win. I think Conor will probably say I don’t mind losing the early rounds – as long as bit by bit I can sap his strength and drain him – and slow him down a bit. You’d have to say with Mayweather’s boxing ability the early part of the fight is Floyd’s but eventually if he’s given the opportunity by the referee to keep on him and keep on him, by the time it gets to round 6, 7 and 8 – then it might be Conor’s part of the fight
McGregor responds to Haye’s loose-armed mockery
After Haye mocks McGregor’s loose-limbed training exercise:
Everyone in the gym was doing their best Conor McGregor impression today, I think I won. Let's hope his fight v Mayweather is entertaining🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/1uvFrYaviL
— David Haye (@davidhaye) August 15, 2017
McGregor responds, referencing Haye’s broken-toe excuse after losing to Wladimir Klitschko in 2011:
It’s a shoulder-loosening exercise. It gets the shoulders warmed up but you’ve got to do it correctly. I saw David Haye hit pads with it but you can’t hit pads when the shoulder’s disconnected. You hit when the shoulder is disconnected and you’ll do serious damage to yourself. And David Haye is a man who has pulled out of contests with a sore baby toe so he must be careful with the way he hits pads.