BOXING fans were in stitches as they saw Cristiano Ronaldo looking “terrified” of Conor McGregor.
The global football icon was seated next to the outspoken Irishman to watch Anthony Joshua’s blockbuster bout with Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia.
Cameras panned to the pair ringside, just as UFC legend McGregor was aiming a rant at a Saudi boxing boss, about old rival Manny Pacquiao.
But viewers on TNT Sport were more interested in the incredibly uncomfortable Ronaldo..
McGregor ranted: “I love Manny, tell Manny to grow a set of balls. Tell Manny to grow a set of balls and fight me at a higher weight.
“Why not? It’s his sport. If he wants me to come down to a smaller weight he should let me use more of my weapons.
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“I should be able to kick, I should be able to grapple. Shouldn’t that be fair? Say it to him, is he a man or a mouse? Is Manny a man or a mouse?”
He signed off his demands by sharing a laugh with Ronaldo – but fans were convinced the Manchester United was petrified deep down.
One said: “Ronaldo is terrified of him.”
Another added: “Ronaldo looks terrified.”
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While airline Ryanair chimed in too, joking: “Middle seat vibes.”
Pacquiao signed with Paradigm Management, who also represent McGregor, in 2020, to set up a potential bout between them.
But PacMan would later be embroiled in a legal dispute with Paradigm, which he lost in May.
Pacquiao, 45, was ordered to pay $5.1 million (£4m) after he fought Yordenis Ugas, 36, without Paradigm’s involvement.
He retired after the loss but the Filipino hero has talked up a comeback ever since.
McGregor, 35, has not returned to the ring since his 2017 loss to American Floyd Mayweather, 46.
And he needed special permission from the UFC to cross over to the ring and break out of his contract.
McGregor has refused to rule out another boxing match in the future having struck up a relationship with the Saudis.
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He joined Pacquiao in Riyadh in October when ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, 37, controversially lost to Tyson Fury.
And McGregor was back out in Saudi with Ronaldo, 38, to watch as Joshua topped the bill against Wallin.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
