EDDIE HEARN has opened up on his recent meeting with Conor McGregor – which he’s likened to a “press conference”.
The Matchroom Boxing chief meet with McGregor in February to discuss the MMA superstar potentially being involved in Katie Taylor’s long-awaited homecoming in Ireland.
The meeting took place at McGregor’s Black Forge Inn pub in Dublin, where Hearn was blown away by the UFC’s poster boy.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, he said: “I know everyone’s got their opinion. I always take people how I see them, right?
“So you hear this, you hear that, you hear this, you hear that.
“I had [lunch with McGregor] — I don’t know how long it was, an hour-and-a-half, two hours — just the funniest time.
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“I love great energy, and this guy is just a pure character. It was like being at a press conference.
“He comes in, and just the energy and the enthusiasm — that’s one thing that I took out of is, you know that in boxing, and this obviously sits alongside MMA as well, you fall in love with the sport.”
A fired-up McGregor spent most of their meeting standing up and even ordered a steak while he was on his feet.
Hearn continued: “He is so passionate about boxing, about mixed martial arts — he wouldn’t sit down.
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“He’s ordered a steak, he’s standing up, he’s showing me how he’d fight this guy and how fight that guy, and he’s telling me about the Nate Diaz fight, when he’s on his back and he’s got a bad knee.
“It’s like a million miles an hour. But he’s like, ‘We should do this, we should do that.
“‘Let’s do this. Let’s make it happen.’
“I love him. I think he’s such a character. In life, you want to be around people where you go, ‘I’ll never forget you.’
“I’ll never forget that moment with Conor McGregor.”
McGregor, 34, has been accused by some of piggybacking on Taylor and trying to improve his image by helping facilitate her return to the Emerald Isle.
But Hearn insists The Notorious genuinely has Taylor’s best interests at heart.
The 43-year-old said: “I know that there is an element to everything that everybody does about publicity and exposure, but he has a genuine passion for Katie.
“He loves Katie Taylor. He thinks she’s amazing.
“She’s a hero in that country, and he wanted to help make it happen for her, for Ireland as well.
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“And I’m sure he gets [bad press], because everybody does when they reach those kinds of heights, but I had a great time. I really did.”
McGregor is set to return to the UFC later this year for a blockbuster showdown with Michael Chandler – although a date for their clash has yet to be finalised.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
