Kavanagh: I wouldn’t prepare McGregor if I don’t think he could win
In a column for The 42, Kavanagh talks about the fight preparations and says that McGregor will fight under boxing rules at 145 pounds.
That fight is close to being agreed and it will be at a weight very close to 145 pounds — maybe just a couple of pounds above that — so Conor will show once again that making that weight, if necessary, isn’t an issue for him. Everything has been agreed from Conor’s perspective, from numbers to ruleset (pure boxing). I don’t know what’s taking Mayweather so long to sign the contract but we’re 100% ready to go. The ball is in his court now. We’re training for the fight — September has been mentioned — so we’re just waiting for the news with each passing day. The experts may not be giving Conor much of a chance, but I wouldn’t allow myself to be involved in preparing any fighter for a contest if I didn’t think we could win. I know a lot of people are dismissing it as merely a money-grab or a spectacle. If it purely was that, I’d wish Conor well but I wouldn’t be part of it…I believe he can do it and Conor is 100% sure about that outcome.
Tyson: Conor McGregor will ‘look really ridiculous’ boxing Mayweather
While Tyson disagrees that the sanctity of boxing will be tarnished by McGregor fighting Mayweather, he says the UFC Champion will not win in boxing.
No, I don’t believe it can ruin boxing at all. Only way it can ruin boxing is if McGregor goes and boxes Floyd because he’s going to look really ridiculous boxing him. But if he goes in there with the UFC stuff, now this could be pretty interesting. [But] McGregor won’t win in a boxing match…People will pay for anything. If two people are fighting, people will pay for it.
https://www.facebook.com/SiriusXMSports/videos/1550239761676626/
Kavanagh: It only took 30 minutes for McGregor to convince me
Kavanagh says he was initially skeptical about McGregor taking on Mayweather.
When I first sat with him and he started explaining the Mayweather fight, it made no sense to me. By the end of the half-hour conversation, he had me shadowboxing him in the room, watching boxing videos…[After Conor and the UFC come to their agreement] it became a lot more real to me. I was enjoying the buildup, the talk, the idea of it. But it wasn’t until Conor messaged me and said, ‘It’s done, I’ve signed,’ that I was like, ‘Oh, OK. We actually are boxing.’…There could still be negotiations going on four weeks out, but the big mistake would be to mentally put off the heavy training until every detail is agreed upon. We are training now. We’re ready for that date in the fall, whenever that might be. We’ll let the lawyers and suits deal with the nuances of who gets this and who gets that. Conor is a fighter. I am his coach. We’ll focus on the contest at hand.
Kavanagh: McGregor will find it hard to get a fair boxing referee
Kavanagh says McGregor will find it tough to get a fair boxing referee.
If I’m speaking plainly, and I don’t know how much trouble this will get me in, I think we’re going to have a hard time finding a fair referee and a fair set of judges. It will be very difficult for a 50- to 60-year-old boxing referee to not go into this bout a little bit biased. Actually, I’ll throw this out there, I think [U.K.-based MMA referee] Marc Goddard should be the referee. We’re already agreeing to boxing rules, boxing fight, boxing ring — everything is done boxing. So, how about an MMA referee that will understand the inside fighting that will go into this fight?
Kavanagh: McGregor going for ‘old-school’ boxing approach to Mayweather
Kavanagh says he is already working with McGregor to prepare for his bout with Mayweather.
I was enjoying the buildup, the talk, the idea of it. But it wasn’t until Conor messaged me and said, ‘It’s done, I’ve signed,’ that I was like, ‘Oh, OK. We actually are boxing…I have a pretty good idea on how I see the fight going. Over the next three to four months, we need to put that plan into action. Drill it. See how it works in the gym. Mix and match the plan until we have it right for the night of the fight…[There will be a boxing expert on the team] 100 percent. And the reason why, is that I want to know how boxing people think. It’s not throwing punches. Owen Roddy has that. I need a voice from that world to bounce some of the ideas I have about this contest off of. How he thinks a referee might see something, how a judge sees something. That’s the reason to have someone from boxing, as opposed to learning how to box…We’re not going to spend 10 to 12 years doing something one way and then, because it’s a boxing fight, change everything for three months and beat the best defensive boxer of all time. No. We’ve got to come at this with an MMA striking strategy. Of course, hands only, but maybe there are things we can do from an MMA perspective, which, if people study boxing from the early 20th century, those things were a bigger part in the boxing game than they are today. We’re bringing an old-school boxing approach.
White: 50-50 split for McGregor-Mayweather is ‘pretty fair’
White says a 50-50 purse split for the proposed boxing match between McGregor and Mayweather would be fair. He also says that there is a 75% chance of the deal being made, and that the fight could produce somewhere between 2.5 and 4 million pay-per-view purchases.By comparison, Mayweather-Pacquiao was split 60-40 in Mayweather’s favour and totaled a record $500 million in pay-per-view purchases and was viewed by 4.4 million households. White:
We haven’t even got there yet. We haven’t even talked percentages yet. … Floyd can think whatever, but the machine that the UFC has and Conor McGregor alone is a machine by himself. I think that 50-50 is pretty fair. I’m very bullish on this fight. I think it happens. These guys are gonna have to come up with something way out of left field for this fight not to happen.
Conlan will join McGregor camp ahead of Mayweather bout
Conlan says he will be joining McGregor’s camp in preparation for the fight with Mayweather.
[Conor] asked me would I come down and be a part of his camp. He would like me to be part of his camp for the fight if it happens. He didn’t even say if it happens, he said he would like me to be a part of the camp for the fight. I’m not saying I’m going to spar him or nothing. He wants me to come down and be part of it and experience it all with me. I think it’ll be a fantastic opportunity to go down and do that. I definitely bring something to the table. I’d definitely be able to spot things, if things are wrong, if he’s throwing punches wrong, little things people who aren’t in boxing do naturally. There’s a lot of things I’d be able to give him pointers on, or tips on…I’m not going to say I’m going to teach him how to beat Floyd Mayweather!
White calls out De La Hoya over anti-McGregor-Mayweather comments
White calls out De La Hoya for posting a statement to his Facebook criticising the potential boxing match between McGregor and Mayweather as something from which “boxing could never recover.”
WTF
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUxD-nEABWl/
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.
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.
Watch The Throne promo
Youssef Hannoun releases a fan promo for the upcoming McGregor-Mayweather fight.
I’ve been listening to them laugh my whole career. I’ve got this situation where people are truly doubting me. Like they doubted me at the very, very beginning.
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.
Showtime exec: McGregor-Mayweather goal is ‘early fall’
A showtime executive says that while they would be willing to wait until next year if they had to, Mayweather and Showtime are targeting an early fall date for the proposed superfight.
I think the date really is a function of how long it takes to get a deal done because the reality is, it took a long time for the UFC and Conor to reach an agreement to allow Conor to participate. Now the real negotiations start which is the Floyd side versus the Conor-UFC side. If that drags on then you’re probably looking at late this year. If it really drags on then you’re looking at early next year. But if people are as motivated as they seem to be – I know how badly Floyd wants it – if we get this wrapped up pretty quickly we could be seeing it early fall. That’s the goal. That’s what we’ve heard from Floyd. Now it’s just getting in a room and seeing if people will be reasonable on the kind of deal that they’re looking for.
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: 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.
McGregor and Mayweather face off in wood
James O’Neal displays his latest creation, a wooden sculpture of Mayweather, alongside his previous sculptures of McGregor and Muhammad Ali, at an Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame ceremony. O’Neal says his next project will be Cris Cyborg.
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.
