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.
Mayweather, Malignaggi: McGregor was dirty when sparring
Mayweather says footage of McGregor sparring Malignaggi shows the UFC lightweight champion to be “extremely dirty” in the ring.
A lot of shots were illegal. Lots of grappling and illegal punching behind the head…He had Joe Cortez in his camp but I still saw him being extremely dirty. My job is not to worry about the referee but to let the referee do his job.
Malignaggi also says the same:
His intensity is a good thing. I just don’t know if he can go without fouling. Fighting up close, I think he gets a bit confused and he ends up fouling. I think that’s where he can be most intense but fighting up close is the hardest thing in boxing to learn and I don’t think you can do that in a few months.
McGregor: I am still the UFC featherweight and UFC lightweight champion
On his media conference call, McGregor says he still considers himself the UFC featherweight and UFC lightweight champion
I mean, how can I not consider myself the UFC featherweight world champion and the UFC lightweight world champion? The current UFC featherweight world champion is Max Holloway, a man who I dismantled, and the former was Jose Aldo — I still reign supreme over that division. And then also, the 155-pound division, I know there’s talks of an interim belt, I’d only won that belt, and literally a month later there was an interim scheduled…But it is what it is, everyone knows I am the multiple-weight world champion of the UFC’s featherweight division and lightweight division, and I look forward to going back and continuing where I left off.
Mayweather: McGregor will lose 90% of his purse if he kicks
On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Mayweather talks about what would happen if McGregor kicks him.
That’s a huge fine. I don’t think he wants to lose 90 per cent of his money, or even more. I don’t really know what it’s gonna be [the fine] but it’s gonna be a heavy fine.
Asked if he would kick McGregor back:
I’m not gonna do that. I follow the Queen’s rules of boxing.
And if he would fight in MMA:
As of right now, we gotta get past August 26. Once we get past August 26, then we can talk about other things.
White: McGregor ‘is going to be the biggest athlete on the planet’
White says that boxing has snubbed MMA, and is now ready for a wake up call.
Here’s the reality: boxing has tried to snub this sport for a very long time. The people who think is going to be this one-sided whatever with Floyd Mayweather, don’t know Conor McGregor yet. The beautiful thing about this thing is that it’s the biggest combat sport [event] ever in the history of combat sports — now you’re going to meet Conor McGregor, motherf—s!…When he makes this upset — and it’ll be the biggest upset in the history of sports — he’s going to be the biggest athlete on the planet. It’s going to be awesome.
Malignaggi calls out McGregor
Malignaggi says he wants to settle his feud with McGregor in a boxing ring.
It’s picked up a ton of momentum, the bad blood is there so let’s fight. We’ll need to see how he looks against Mayweather. If he looks dog s***, no one will want to see us fight. As long as he doesn’t get the living s*** beaten out of him, I think the demand is there to make the fight…I showed up with the best intentions in camp, but at a certain point you realise that you are being used as a pawn where somebody is trying to get ahead at your expense and not through your help…f I never see him or speak to him for the rest of my life, it’s cool.
White: McGregor ‘gave Malignaggi a one-sided beating’
White talks about suggestions by Malignaggi that he had edited the McGregor sparring footage to make McGregor look better.
What am I Steven Spielberg! Come on! It’s footage of the actual sparring. I was there for all 12 rounds. Paulie has said some bad things about me. I felt sorry for the guy. It was a one-way beating. A lot of people were saying Conor couldn’t box. Paulie was obviously lying about everything about the sparring match, so I released it….I got no problem releasing the full tape, the problem is that Conor doesn’t want Mayweather to see everything he’s working on…It was very one-sided. it was an absolute beating. It was the right thing for Paulie Malignaggi to leave, for his health’s sake…Conor’s going to come at [Mayweather] different than anyone he’s every faced before. It’s not going to be a boxing match, it’s going to be a fight.
Alvarez: ‘You’re a fool if you don’t think Conor can put Floyd away’
Alvarez says not to underestimate McGregor.
I think a lot of boxing fans are looking at Conor as if he’s never, ever boxed. Even the way they’re talking seems that they’re writing him off like he never boxed. He boxed, he understands boxing. I just think his chance is going to happen within the first four rounds. And Conor can. I think you’re a fool if you don’t think Conor can put Floyd away. I think he can. I think he can land a punch and put Floyd away…I think if it goes past the fourth round and gets in the fifth, sixth, seventh where it can become a technical boxing match, I think it could look look one sided. Floyd’s the king of that, he’s the king of swimming and not getting wet. He can punch and not get hit. So I think if it goes further past five, six, seven, eight he could win by TKO. But I think before that time, that’s where Conor’s time is — in the first four rounds.
https://www.facebook.com/UFCCanada/videos/1572784052743232/
White: It’s crazy to rule out McGregor beating Mayweather
White says he believes in McGregor’s ability to beat Mayweather.
I stopped doubting Conor McGregor a long time ago. Everything he’s told me he’s going to do, he’s done, so if he says he’ll beat Floyd Mayweather inside four rounds, he will. I don’t think Conor underestimates him, he obviously respects him but you’ve got to remember – Floyd is 41 years old and Conor McGregor is 28 years old. He’s the bigger, stronger fighter. People aren’t giving him a chance and that’s just crazy. This is going to be a fight, and anything can happen in a fight…[8 ounce gloves] definitely benefits Conor. First of all, Floyd isn’t a big puncher, he’s not a knockout puncher. His whole game is defence, using the gloves to defend himself and smaller gloves means Conor will have more places to hit. We’ve always wanted to have smaller gloves, they didn’t want it and now all of a sudden Floyd has decided that he wants smaller gloves. So now we have a hearing with the state commission this week and hopefully that will happen. Conor isn’t concerned about Floyd’s punching power at all.
Porter reacts to McGregor-Malignaggi sparring footage
Porter, who will face Mayweather Promotions’ Thomas Dulorme in the main event of the Fox Prelims for McGregor vs. Mayweather on August 26th, talks about the McGregor-Malignaggi sparring session.
That’s a knockdown. That’s a knockdown…Conor’s roughing up Paulie a lot like he should do Floyd…And he’s bringing that left hand, which we’re all being told is going to be his deadly punch.
McGregor: I’ll be 20 pounds heavier than Mayweather in the ring
McGregor says he will be heavier than Mayweather.
You ain’t never seen me troubled by no small man like that…If he comes in any heavier [than 150] he’s not going to be in peak physical condition. If he comes in at 150, he’s in peak physical condition, but he’s gonna be 150 pounds. I’m going to be 170 plus on the night. If I don’t know what else to say…It’s over before it even begins. Trust me on that.
.@TheNotoriousMMA sizes up @FloydMayweather ⚖️
via @ShowtimeBoxing #MayweatherMcGregor pic.twitter.com/e3mFIUUsTu
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) August 12, 2017
McGregor: ‘Not really too much of a fan of either’ Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin
McGregor gives his opinion on Alvarez and Golovkin.
I’m not really too much of a fan of either of those. I think Canelo’s a little but stuck, a little bit flat on his feet. When I watch footage of him I just see him getting peppered — he has no feet under him…Golovkin I think came into camp, for this preparation, badly out of shape. I’m looking at him badly out of shape up in Big Bear and I just see a drained individual. So, although they’re supposedly up there as well, I don’t really think they are.
Lobov: Malignaggi didn’t land anything on McGregor
Lobov, McGregor’s long-time training partner and fellow UFC fighter, says Malignaggi wasn’t used to not being the centre of attention.
In boxing they very rarely train in camps. You very rarely see two champions train together. It’s always centered around one guy – he is the star and then everyone else is there to support him. Paulie just was not used to not being that star, he just wasn’t able to deal with it.
On the ‘pushdown’:
Sorry that there was no good pictures of Paulie, because he didn’t land anything in sparring! So, what can we do?
On McGregor being cheap with sparring partners:
They had their own house. A normal house, they had a car, they had their meals sorted. Three meals a day sorted from a restaurant. You know, not just where they had to cook themselves. No, they had restaurant meals delivered to them, every day, three times a day. And they were getting paid! I mean, what else can you ask for?
McGregor: We were worried about Malignaggi, he ‘took a lot of head trauma’
At his Media Scrum, McGregor talks about his sparing session with Malignaggi.
He was looking for an exit. The spars were not good for him. He took a lot of head trauma. Straight after it we were worried. The sparring partners were actually telling us when he was dropped back at the home that he was stumbling out of the car after the 12-rounder…He was flattened against the ropes; multiple times the ropes kept him on his feet. We were worried about him. We thought the worst was about to happen. He was certainly badly concussed. And then he just got out of there and went running…He showed (up), he tried his best, it didn’t go his way. He got his ass whooped, he got his pride dented, and then he wanted a way out. What better way for a guy like him to exit under a load of questions…He was flattened. What can I say? He got his ass whooped. But I like the guy. He’s kind of like a lovable mouthpiece.
McGregor: Mayweather is a ‘rat and a weasel’ for racism claims
In response to accusations from Mayweather that McGregor’s team called his team ‘monkeys’:
I just didn’t like when he called us monkeys. I think that was totally disrespect. He called us monkeys. I didn’t like it. It didn’t push a button to make me jump out of my character and go crazy, but I didn’t like it.
At his Media Scrum, McGregor says:
He knows there’s no racism from me; his father knows, [his manager] Leonard Ellerbe knows, ask these people. He says I labelled him a monkey, I never once labelled him or any other African American a monkey, and it f****** annoys me he’s bringing this stuff up…If I was to label him after any animal it would be a rat or a weasel, that’s a rat and a weasel move trying to manipulate someone’s words and create something that isn’t even there. That’s such a sensitive subject. He’s a man who beats his wife in front of his kid. He is the dirt of the dirt so to even bring that up and engage in that, that shows me his true colours.
Ellerbe: $60 million box office answers critics
Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather productions says critics of the fight, such as Oscar de la Hoya, are on the wrong track.
The fact of the matter is we have over $60 million in the box office right now, which is more than double any other live gate that’s ever been done. The fight that they have on the 16th of September (Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin) next month, our fight right now we’ve got more in the box office right now — double — than they will have…Mind your f****** business. “You know? It’s like do your job, cover the sport. Obviously, you have to give your opinion, which we understand that. It’s like, we don’t see you saying nothing else about anybody else’s events. We know what this is about. It’s like, OK, one thing is for sure — you’re not gonna stop this event. The fans demanded this event and that’s what they’re gonna get. We didn’t ask for this. Social media was on fire because these two guys were going at it…Did we happen to miss the world tour? Did we see the record number of amount of fans to come out and support a world tour. You kidding me?
Mayweather: Beating McGregor by decision would be ‘win for him’
Mayweather says he will have failed if he fails to knock out McGregor in their upcoming fight.
If the fight goes the distance it is a win for him. But I don’t think that is going to happen. He is going around saying that it will be over in four rounds, and he might be right. But it will be because I say so, and not him…The people should expect entertainment, and that is what I am going to give them. They have to understand that this is a show. One of the biggest shows in history. No one is going to be disappointed. I will be coming forward. I am coming to get him.
Barker: McGregor should fight Malignaggi next
Former world champion Darren Barker says McGregor should stay in boxing after facing Floyd Mayweather and settle his feud with Malignaggi.
I think McGregor will box again after this fight. I have called it a bad day for UFC, because I think they will lose McGregor. He’ll be loving the hype around this fight and especially the money…He won’t be able to get an opponent like Mayweather again, but he is going to love being involved in the No 1 combat sport which is boxing, no doubt. It’s stood the test of time and I think McGregor will want to be a part of it for years to come…I think McGregor released those pictures for his own confidence, regardless of what happened, to try and unsettle Mayweather in some way. But that’s going to be impossible as Mayweather has seen and heard it all before. Good luck to McGregor for trying.