Boxing

CONOR McGREGOR’S team-mate warned the UFC star might ‘lose control’ if he fought Jake Paul and make it ‘very dangerous’ for the YouTuber.
Social media sensation Paul, 2-0 as a boxer, has tirelessly chased a boxing match with former UFC champion McGregor.

Frans Mlambo pictured with Conor McGregorCredit: Instagram / @thenotoriousmma

YouTuber Jake Paul has two knockout wins to his nameCredit: Getty Images – Getty

He even claimed to have a $50million cheque waiting to go, as he also directed insults to the Irishman’s fiancee Dee Devlin.
McGregor’s training partner Frans Mlambo doubts any amount of money could convince the superstar into facing Paul.
But if he did, the internet phenomenon has been told if the foul-mouthed tirades continue, he will be made to pay for his words.
Mlambo told SunSport: “I thought the whole thing was ridiculous.

“Conor would try and make an example out of him. Conor is rich and all but he’s still one of the boys and he doesn’t take s***.
“He’s obviously grown now, he’s a father and a family man but maybe he’s staying out of the whole thing for everybody’s safety.
“He’d lose control if he went into those situations.

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“If the fight actually happened and Jake Paul was talking all this garbage leading up to it, it would be very dangerous Conor in that ring.
“It would make a load of other people a load of money and that’s why people will be pushing for it, but it is something that should not happen.”
Paul, 24, has two knockout wins to his name, but only against internet rival ‘AnEsonGib’ and ex-NBA player Nate Robinson.
He fights former UFC welterweight Ben Askren, 36, next on April 17, after goading McGregor by changing his offer to just $10,000.
The Dublin southpaw, 32, made his ring debut in 2017, losing to all-time great Floyd Mayweather, 43, banking around £100m in doing so.
But Mlambo is not confident any sum could entice aspiring billionaire McGregor into fighting viral vlogger Paul and entertaining the antics that comes with it.

Conor McGregor pictured before his UFC comeback

Jake Paul pictured after a sparring sessionCredit: Instagram / @danieltoretto
He said: “For 50million I’d fight anybody, it would literally never not make sense, I’d fight Goliath.
“But Conor’s in a total different position that $50m might not be worth the effort, the rigamarole of going through the WWE-entertainment style leading up to the fight.
“I feel like if he went into the Jake Paul thing he might be looking at it as more of a show more than anything else.
“It might not even be worth the money to him, just my view knowing what I know about Conor.”
Mlambo, a Bellator featherweight, would prefer to see his sparring partner rematch Dustin Poirier immediately.
McGregor was knocked out by Poirier at UFC 257, just under seven years after doing the same to the American.
The pair are now tied at one apiece and already talking up a trilogy.

Conor McGregor was beaten by Dustin Poirier at UFC 257Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Conor McGregor is eyeing a trilogy against Dustin PoirierCredit: Getty Images – Getty
It has also forced McGregor to shelve his proposed mega-money boxing return against 42-year-old Manny Pacquiao.
But Mlambo has backed his Straight Blast Gym gym-mate to bounce back in the UFC before entertaining a switch to the ring again.
He explained: “The Manny Pacquiao fight is an entertaining one and I’m sure it would make more money than any UFC one.
“So in that may I’d go for it but the loss to Poirier would be eating at Conor and I reckon he’d be trying to get into the octagon straight away to mend that.

“Since there’s a loss, it wouldn’t even be a distraction it just wouldn’t make sense to do the Pacquiao fight right now.
“Think of the promotion, it would be known he’s going in to fight one of the biggest boxers on the planet and he’s coming off a bad loss.
“He should put the Manny Pacquiao thing on pause right now, go back into the cage, take out a few lads and then we can talk about that.”

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NATE DIAZ has revealed he’s open to boxing Jake Paul – but insisted he won’t fight the YouTuber any time soon.
The UFC superstar took aim at Paul last December after seeing the YouTuber aggressively pursue a boxing match with Conor McGregor.

Nate Diaz has revealed he’s open to boxing Jake PaulCredit: INSTAGRAM@NATEDIAZ

Nate Diaz isn’t a fan of YouTube star Jake PaulCredit: Instagram / @danieltoretto

Paul didn’t let Diaz get away with trolling him on Twitter, firing back with a video of him getting the better of the Ultimate Fighter season five winner’s team-mate AJ Agazarm in a sparring session.
And the former Disney star’s antics have made Diaz want to share the ring with him.
When asked if he wants to box the younger Paul brother, Diaz told ESPN: “Nah, not at the moment. But at some point for sure.”
Fan favourite Diaz, 35, added: “I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.”

Paul, 23, is set to take on ex-UFC welterweight Ben Askren in a boxing match on April 17.
The YouTuber is confident of getting the better of the former Bellator and ONE Championship champ, recently claiming he won’t land a single punch on him.
But Diaz reckons Paul may have bitten off more than he can chew with Funky.
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He said: “I think one thing he has to understand is he’s fighting Ben Askren.
“That’s a different type of boxing match than he’s probably going to be used to.
“So he better bring some goofy, unorthodox wrestlers to spar with.
“Because sometimes those are the harder fights just because they’re unorthodox and you don’t know what to expect coming from a boxing point of view.

“I would expect Ben Askren [will win]. But it could it be tough, it could be easy.
“Who knows? That’s what makes it kind of interesting.”
Diaz hasn’t fought since losing his BMF title fight with Jorge Masvidal in November 2019.
The Stockton native is hoping to return to the octagon this year and has set his sights on fights with Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira.

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JAKE PAUL claimed Conor McGregor ‘doesn’t have that hunger anymore’ and said the UFC star is ‘way easier’ than Floyd Mayweather.
The YouTuber, who is 2-0 as a boxer, has chased a fight with McGregor and even claimed to have a $50million cheque waiting to go.

Jake Paul took another swipe at Conor McGregor

Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor in 2017Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Paul’s viral goading took a turn in January after McGregor was knocked out by Dustin Poirier, and taunted that his offer now stood at just $10,000.
The social media sensation – who was called out by Floyd Mayweather – has questioned the Irishman’s desire.
And as a result, he feels Mayweather, 43, is by far the harder opponent to beat compared to McGregor, 32, who was beaten by the American legend.
Paul, 24, said on the I AM ATHLETE podcast: “Conor, Conor is way easier than Floyd.

“Conor is way easier than Floyd and Conor, just like Ben Askren is doing currently, Conor will underestimate me, he’ll come into the ring, be like ‘this is an easy payday’.
“He just doesn’t have that hunger anymore, that’s why he got starched in his last fight, it’s because he has everything.
“He doesn’t need to fight for s*** anymore.”
Paul has two knockouts to his name, against online rival ‘AnEsonGib’ and ex-NBA star Nate Robinson.

How Floyd Mayweather and Jake Paul compare
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And he is now set to face retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren, 36, in his third pro bout, scheduled for April 17.
But Mayweather, who is due to fight Jake’s brother Logan, 25, this year, said he would box the younger Paul afterwards, should he beat Askren.
The 43-year-old officially retired in 2017 after stopping McGregor in ten rounds.
He did return for an exhibition bout a year later, wiping out featherweight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in one round.
Mayweather will face Logan – who lost his pro debut to rival KSI in 2019 – in a similar spectacle but their initial February 20 date was postponed.
The Pauls have a farcical experience and skill disparity to Mayweather, but do outweigh and outreach the ex-welterweight king.

Jake Paul beat ‘AnEsonGib’ in round oneCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Floyd Mayweather is set to fight Logan PaulCredit: AFP
And Jake warned the all-time great that he is risking his legacy by agreeing to fight the novice but much larger celebrity brothers.
He said: “He’s one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest ever and I respect him and his whole entire career.
“But, you know we’ll see what happens with him and my brother. He’s been inactive, he’s 40-something-year’s old now.
“And again, everyone he’s fought, he’s fought them at 150-pounds. I’m coming in 210, it is a difference, it is a difference.
“I’m coming in early in my career, I don’t see us fighting for another 18-months-24 months but you know who knows what will happen?
He continued: “If you play with the fire too long, you’re going to get burnt.
“I think he’s making mistakes here. He’s going to ruin his legacy by trying to f*** around and do one of these fights.
“Defence, he’s ducking all these 150-pounders, 145-pounders but even then Shane Mosley almost sleeps him at 145-pounds.
“All I’ve got to do is hit him once at 210-pounds and…”

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NATE DIAZ claimed he invented the blueprint on how to beat Conor McGregor – which Floyd Mayweather and Dustin Poirier copied.
Diaz became the first man to ever beat the Irishman in the UFC, winning by second round submission in March 2016.

Nate Diaz submitted Conor McGregor in 2016Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor in 2017Credit: PA:Press Association

McGregor, who went from featherweight to welterweight, started off strong but tired quickly, leading to the loss.
And Diaz reckons boxing legend Mayweather – who beat the ex-UFC champion in 2017 – and Poirier both adopted the same tactics.
He told ESPN: “I thought he did horribly [against Mayweather], I thought he did everything that I and the other boxers thought he would do.
“He went in there, punched himself out and got knocked out – he didn’t learn from what happened when I fought him.

“Floyd Mayweather watched the blueprint on how to beat him.
“When the fight started, that’s what he did, he made him punch himself out, because that’s not how Mayweather fights.
“He’d read up on him like I read up on him. I didn’t think Conor did a good job at all.
“He’d just lost to me like that and Floyd went out here and pushed the pace and Conor took the bait.

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“Conor did that with me, that’s what first exposed him, then he did it with Mayweather.
“He tried to make it last against Khabib, he took four rounds to finish him off. Then he fought Dustin, he was dropping combinations on him but I think he was pushing the pace like he had it in the bag.
“That happens because he doesn’t want to be in there, he’s too anxious for the kill because he wants out; he should have slowed it down a little bit.”
McGregor, 32, avenged defeat to Diaz, 35, five months later in a rematch, but was stopped in round ten of his boxing debut against Mayweather, 43.
But Diaz admitted he has no interest in a trilogy with his great rival right now, instead preferring to fight Poirier, 32, at welterweight.

Conor McGregor was knocked out by Dustin PoirierCredit: Sportsfile – Subscription
Poirier is coming off a knockout win against McGregor – the man he lost to in 2014 – in their lightweight headliner in January.
The UFC are now looking at a rubber match between the pair.
But Diaz slammed McGregor’s opportunity at revenge, pointing towards his three losses in the UFC.
He said: “This guy gets finished by me, finished by Khabib – the whole point of him fighting Poirier was to get a rematch against Khabib.
‘This guy gets rematches, it’s crazy. It’s time for something different. He was finished off, why should he get a rematch?”

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