Arum: Pacquiao ‘is there’ to fight McGregor if Mayweather fight falls through
Arum, Pacquiao’s manager, says that McGregor can fight his client if Mayweather negotiations break down, although he thinks a fight will happen is Dana White is persistent.
If McGregor is still looking for an opponent, Manny Pacquiao is there…[As for the Mayweather negotiations] Be patient, don’t give in. Dana’s a good negotiator, and he’ll get the thing done. But he can’t be pushed around by Mayweather and his people.
Farrell: I ‘should check in’ on Conor McGregor’s baby
When asked if the Irish are treating McGregor’s baby like the messiah, Farrell says:
I don’t know man, I haven’t checked in…there’s a point to what you’re saying. I should check in.
When asked if the baby will become the Irish Prime Minister:
We don’t have a Prime Minister, man… You Americans and your lack of education.
When the interviewer he says he’s Australian, Farrell jokes:
I know. I heard the accent.
Nelson: Mayweather fight has ‘been on McGregor’s radar for a long time’
McGregor’s training partner says the Irishman has been thinking about a Mayweather fight for years.
He’s been talking about this for a long, long time. This is not just new now, It’s been on the radar for a long time. I think it’s going to generate a lot of money for both guys and that’s why it’s going to happen. It’s not really [a surprise]. He’s become one of the biggest stars in the world when it comes to sports. And I think this is what he hunts for. It makes sense for Mayweather as well. Just with the way Mayweather is. You know, Mayweather likes the coins as well.
Dillashaw coach: Thousands of years ago, Conor McGregor would probably be the king
Ludwig, TJ Dillashaw’s coach says he has a hard time coming to grips with all the trash talk and bravado that is produced by people trying to emulate McGregor.
I’m not a smart person, but I need to dumb myself down in order to understand what’s going on in mixed martial arts…Look what Conor’s been able to do,. That motherf-cker might fight [Floyd] Mayweather. That is huge. I’m a Conor McGregor fan, that guy is making some big things happen. But there’s a very select few people that can pull that off, it shouldn’t be everybody acting mad and talking stupid. You know, people are trying to talk like Conor, but he doesn’t swear, he’s really articulate, he’s funny. The guy’s a genius at what he’s doing. I’m all for that. And he performs, he loves the limelight. I’m all for it. I want to see how far he can go as a human. I think if we were f-cking thousands of years ago, he would probably be the king. He’d be running shit. Tell me that guy couldn’t be running a country. He’s probably running Ireland.”
Mayweather: McGregor a ‘tough competitor’
Mayweather says McGregor will not be a pushover.
Once I get back to Las Vegas, to my hub, we’ll find out how everything plays out. I’ll communicate with Al [Haymon], I’ll communicate with Leonard Ellerbe, we’ll sit down and see what we can come up with and hopefully the McGregor fight can be made. We didn’t agree yet. Everything takes time, we’ll just see…This is a boxing match. He’s a hell of a stand-up fighter. I can’t take that away from him. Only time McGregor has been defeated was when he was on the ground. When he was standing up, he always was victorious. He’s a power puncher. He’s a tough competitor. I’m a tough competitor. We have to go out there and give the world and the fans what they want to see — excitement.
Foxx: I doubted West on Slow Jamz
Foxx says he was convinced Slow Jamz, his 2003 Kanye West and Twista collaboration, would bomb. Foxx was attempting to relaunch his singing career by throwing house parties in LA when he first met Kanye, then an up-and-coming rapper who had just survived a car crash.
I would throw parties just so I could get into music. I had a studio in my house, and when I had music people over, I said, ‘Leave some music in my studio,’ ’cause I was trying to get on. In walks this kid with a backpack on, jaw’s a little busted; it’s Kanye West. I asked Kanye to perform, so he did this freestyle and I said, ‘Oh my God, you’re about to be bigger than life!’.
However, Foxx wasn’t so sure about Kanye’s ability to make hits after West told him to sing the song with less of an R&B feel.
He said, ‘Don’t do that. Things have changed, just sing it simple. So when I sing the song, I’m thinking in my mind, ‘This song ain’t gonna work’. I do the song begrudgingly, leave and do a bad movie for six weeks, come back, [and] when I get back, my homie said, ‘You know that song you said was bad? It’s number one in the country!’
Conlan: McGregor ‘definitely has boxing skill’
Conlan says McGregor has boxing skills.
I’ve never sparred him but I did train with him. I’ve seen him work on the bags, I’ve seen him work on his pad work and, you know, how he moves in the ring. And you know, I was impressed. I was impressed I’ll admit. You know, I’ve seen MMA fighters do boxing skills and you’re saying ‘ok, they’re ok, but they’re not gonna be a boxer.’ But Conor definitely has the skill. He’s a big puncher. Have you seen the size of his hands? His hands are so big. His hands are like twice the size of mine. I’m telling you. They’re really big. He’s got big shovel hands.
Aldo: McGregor rematch ‘will never happen’
In advance of his June 3 fight with Max Holloway, Aldo says he doesn’t expect to get a second shot at McGregor.
Everybody says things today that I don’t even understand why. Conor was good for one side, let’s say, because he brought more attention to the division and to myself. On another side, to talk about the fight, man, that’s in the past…Everybody still asks me if I want or if I don’t want [to fight him again]. That’s not up to me. That’s up to the UFC, and we know it will never happen. I don’t even know if he will come back to fight. The UFC tried to do a [second] fight and he didn’t want it, didn’t accept it, because what happened will never happen again.
Holloway: ‘Conor McGregor should be proud’
Holloway says fans should take time to thank the UFC lightweight champion for all he’s done for the sport.
Conor should be proud. He should be proud. Conor was the champ. He should hold his belt up high and proud. At the end of the day, he’s the 2015 champ…He talked about defending the [155-pound] belt more than the [145-pound] belt. It’s time to move on from this chapter of life already, guys. At the end of the day, we’re not going to tell Lebron [James], ‘Hey, Lebron, you can’t show your three rings, that was three years ago.’ No, be proud, you won it. But you’ve got to play again to to keep holding this championship, and [McGregor] is not doing that. And fair play to him…He’s not that type of guy. He’s just not that type of guy, he’s always looking over the fence. Or Looking for better stuff. We’re grateful for the fans he brung in, but at the end of the day, his fans love him for that – they’re always looking for the next big thing.
De La Hoya calls for McGregor-Mayweather boycott
In an open letter De La Hoya calls for a boycott of the proposed McGregor-Mayweather fight.
To my fellow boxing fans, I write in the hopes that together we can protect the sport of boxing. With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that the circus known as Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor will be coming to town in the near future. As undercard fights start to take form, athletic commissions give their blessings in exchange for millions of dollars, and the fighters start counting even more cash, one group will eventually be left to make sure this farce doesn’t occur — we, the fans, who are the lifeblood of our sport. Floyd’s and Conor’s motivation is clear. It’s money. It’s a win-win for them. It’s a lose-lose for us. We’ll be $100 lighter and we will have squandered another opportunity to bring boxing back to its rightful place as the sport of kings. At this point, only we can shut the circus down by making it clear that we won’t pay to see a joke of a fight and telling our casual-fan friends that they shouldn’t either.
Helwani: Neither McGregor or Mayweather have boxing licence
Helwani tweets that McGregor’s Nevada boxing licence has not been approved yet, and that Mayweather has still to apply for his.
Mayweather, on the other hand, has yet to apply for his license. Also, the NAC tells me neither promoter has asked to secure a date. Yet.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 24, 2017
White: McGregor sent angry text message after Ferguson refused to fight
White says that after Ferguson refused a catchweight fight against No.6 ranked lightweight Michael Johnson because it was not for a title and for a lower purse, he received a text from McGregor.
You know this shit that went on with Tony Ferguson and Khabib, right? Conor text me and said, ‘I can’t believe you’re going to f-cking pay that bum Tony Ferguson one dollar. You shouldn’t pay that guy one f-cking dime.’ He goes, ‘He was there, made weight and you lined up a fight for him – after Khabib fell out – you lined up a fight with Michael Johnson and he turned it down. F-cking bum. You shouldn’t pay him a dime’.
Sutcliffe urges McGregor back to Crumlin for Mayweather prep
Two-time Olympian boxer Phil Sutcliffe says he would welcome McGregor back to Crumlin Boxing Club to prepare for his proposed boxing bout with Mayweather. McGregor won novice boxing titles under Sutcliffe and the Crumlin Boxing Club banner as a teenager.
It makes money sense. In boxing sense, it doesn’t make any sense. But anything can happen in boxing. [Mayweather] is getting old and Conor is in his prime. As we all know, he’s punching very hard at the moment. I can’t see him winning it, but I’ll definitely be shouting for him. It’s two different sports and Mayweather is one of the craftiest boxers of all time…The thing is, [Conor] could always move around a ring. You can see that in his MMA fights the way he controls his opponent with the way that he moves. He was always handy. He was a very good boxer. You’ve got to remember, what got Conor to where he is now is his boxing ability. Most of his wins come from his boxing, that big backhand has put a lot of people down..In terms of boxing, it isn’t a 50/50 fight. But then again, anything can happen. Someone might slip, someone might fall or Mayweather might decide to hold the fight up in the clinch. All it takes is one punch to land and for someone to take advantage of the opportunity if it comes…I would be delighted to see him back here training. I really think it makes sense too. It would be great for Crumlin Boxing Club.
White: Mayweather fight could be McGregor’s last
During an interview with Snoop Dogg, White says that McGregor may not come back to MMA after fighting Mayweather.
Conor could make $75 million (£57.5 million) [but] how do you come back [to UFC] and fight [for] $10 million (£7.6 million)? You have to be hungry and you may not be hungry with $75 million in the bank, but he is hungry for Mayweather and hungry to prove people wrong.
Tyson: McGregor not skilled enough to beat Mayweather
Tyson says that Mayweather will beat McGregor in boxing.
No, it doesn’t give boxing a bad name. This is interesting. It only gives boxing a bad name because Conor is not skilled enough to box with Floyd. If he fought UFC in this and Floyd boxed, then that would be more exciting. Then, we would see how Floyd handles the kicks to the leg and all that stuff. But, that’s what boxing about. Conor’s not a boxer. You know, he got some amateur boxing skills, but he’s not a boxer. He needs to go in there fight his fight. Floyd need to fight his fight. If he’s doing this for money, he’s just ridiculous instead of just fighting his fight…Until I see the two of them in the ring. I don’t care if they signed it. Until I see the two of them in the ring and they’re getting ready to ring that bell, it’s not going to happen.
Mayweather: I look forward to signing the McGregor deal
Mayweather says he is looking forward to signing a superfight deal with McGregor.
If me and Conor McGregor do happen to make the fight happen, which I think the fight will happen…I had a great career, and my career may not be over. Number 50 may be against Conor McGregor, we’ll just wait and see…if he signed the contract – I’m over here working, I’m always working…They said Conor McGregor signed his end of the deal. I look forward to signing my end of the deal. I haven’t signed my end of the deal yet so once I get home, I’ll communicate with my team, I’ll talk with Al Haymon, I’ll talk with Leonard, and we’ll see what we come up with. We’ll put all our great minds together and we’re gonna have another superfight.
Jeff Mayweather: Floyd already training for McGregor fight
According to Mayweather’s uncle Jeff, the boxer is already working behind the scenes towards the McGregor showdown.
He has come in, he trained once, he must be preparing for the McGregor fight because he worked out with an MMA guy. Everybody was telling me that it was a UFC fighter. Floyd told me they did five rounds. This was a week and a half ago.
Henry: ‘McGregor is one of the best boxers I’ve ever seen – ever’
Henry, who coaches Eddie Alvarez and Frankie Edgar, praises McGregor’s boxing skills.
Look, if I was Conor, I would definitely pursue the boxing, because he can make more in one fight than in 10 or 11 with the UFC. But, while he’s doing it, they should definitely make another 155-pound belt, because it would be ridiculous if they didn’t. Conor is one of the best boxers I’ve ever seen – ever. From his precision to his power to his speed, and I think he has a shot in the first two rounds. Because Mayweather, like a lot of boxers do when they’re sparring MMA guys, he may not think he’s that good. He might not realize how fast Conor is, and you’ve got to remember that Conor is going to be taller, longer, 13 years younger, and a southpaw. Early on, I’d give him a chance of doing some damage. But after that, it’s not going to be too good for him.
‘Sign your end Floyd or you are just a mouth’
McGregor taunts Mayweather about signing his fight contract.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUXTg5qAyQL/
Mayweather: ‘I think the fight will happen’
Speaking in the ring following one of his protege’s bout tonight, Mayweather says that he sees himself facing McGregor.
I think the fight will happen.
"I think the fight will happen!"
The mega fight moves closer as Floyd Mayweather expects to meet Conor McGregor. 🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/sTh3bTWhml
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) May 20, 2017