MMA star McGregor wants to fight a boxer on his turf
Conor McGregor stands on stage during a weigh-in Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Las Vegas. McGregor is scheduled to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing bout Saturday. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor says he wants a boxer to “come into his world”, insisting he would beat Floyd Mayweather in a rematch, the BBC reported Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Irishman lost to ex-welterweight champion Mayweather in Las Vegas in August in one of the richest boxing bouts of all time.
McGregor, speaking ahead of the Dublin premiere of “Conor McGregor: Notorious” — a documentary about the fighter — said his next fight would be to defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title.
“Right now I am focused on my world, the world of true fighting,” he told the BBC.
“Ideally I would like to take one of the boxers into an MMA bout — someone come into my world now.
“I went into their platform and faced the so-called best-of-the-best and I handled him pretty easily in the early rounds, before I got fatigued and got stopped.”
Mayweather, who returned after two years of retirement to take on the Irish mixed martial arts star, bided his time before exerting his superiority from the middle rounds onwards at the T-Mobile Arena.
The match ended with a 10th-round stoppage as Mayweather ended his career with a perfect 50-0 record.
But McGregor, nicknamed “The Notorious”, said he would beat the 40-year-old American in a rematch by changing his training regime.
“He (Mayweather) was a tactical genius in there. He changed his gameplan three times and that is the sign of a true champion,” said McGregor.
“If it happened in a rematch, it’s a simple adjustment of me having a heavier sparring partner coming in the later rounds, leaning on me and walking me down.
“My sparring in the lead-up to the camp was always against fast-twitch, light-on-their-toes opponents. I was never against forward pressure because he (Mayweather) had never fought like that. That took us by surprise and I got beat.
“But if we had a rematch I would correct that and beat him.”
Referring to a possible Mayweather rematch, he added: “He’s retired. I will not call him out. I respect what he has done.”
Asked if he would get back in a boxing ring, McGregor replied: “Of course. Boxing is certainly an interest of mine. But the next fight will be to defend my UFC lightweight belt.”
