MMA

CONOR McGREGOR fought better than Manny Pacquiao did against Floyd Mayweather, according to ex-UFC star Chael Sonnen.
Pacquiao was outboxed over 12 rounds against Mayweather in 2015 in the richest fight in boxing history.

Floyd Mayweather beat Manny Pacquiao over 12 rounds in 2015 Credit: AFP – Getty

Conor McGregor lost to Mayweather in 2017 Credit: AP:Associated Press

Former UFC champion McGregor was then unsuccessful against the American legend two years later, as he was stopped in round ten.
But Sonnen reckons PacMan ‘did much worse’ in his attempt to beat Mayweather when compared to McGregor’s effort.
And the former UFC title challenger even backed The Notorious to fight Pacquiao, having already shared the ring with Mayweather.
He explained: “Pacquiao did much worse with Floyd than Conor did.

“If that’s the only thing we have to compare it to, then let’s do the fight. Manny Pacquiao? One of the best ever?
“All of those things are true but he’s already done it once and he did it with Floyd, who’s better than Pacquiao.
“I’m just saying, we don’t how good Conor is.”
McGregor, 32, made his boxing debut the night he fought Mayweather, 43, who went on to retire a perfect 50-0.

The Irishman did win some of the early rounds and ended the fight having landed 111 punches.
In contrast, Filipino icon Pacquiao, 41, only scored with 81 shots, despite having two more rounds to do so.
But Mayweather had not boxed for two years before facing McGregor, and claimed press ups and sit ups were his sole training methods before the bout.
McGregor has vowed to return to the ring and believes he will even win a world title in boxing.
It looked as though he could have even faced Pacquiao after revealing the pair were in talks.
Instead, he is now in line for a UFC return having signed to rematch Dustin Poirier – who he beat in 2014 – in a January 23 headliner.
But McGregor did reveal he will use the fight against southpaw Poirier, 31, in preparation for fellow left-hander Pacquiao.

Correct. Southpaw box style. Continue to sharpen my MMA skills with some tough competition, while leading into my Manny bout preparation.It’s not easy going between both sports and then coming back to the one sport again.Just want to keep sharp guys, that’s all. It’s only fair. https://t.co/PnjHb4VP9j
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 13, 2020

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TERENCE CRAWFORD admitted he would face Conor McGregor as ‘money talks’ and said the UFC star is ‘not a real good wrestler’.
Crawford, who defends his WBO welterweight title against Kell Brook, was subject to talks with McGregor earlier this year.

Terence Crawford admitted he would face Conor McGregor as ‘money talks’Credit: Mikey Williams

Crawford said McGregor is ‘not a real good wrestler’Credit: Rex Features

His promoter Bob Arum wanted to speak with UFC boss about a pair of crossover fights, one in the boxing ring and the other inside the octagon.
But Crawford, 33, who wrestled during high school, would be willing to make the move over to MMA to challenge McGregor, 32, if the cash was right.
He told TMZ Sports: “They put that money up, hell yeah I’ll go over there and fight him.
“Conor is a big talent in the Octagon, and I’m a big talent in the boxing ring. Money talks.

“To keep it real, Conor’s not a real good wrestler. He may kick the s*** out of you.
“You gotta worry about them kicks to the head and them elbows more than him grabbing you.
“It’d be other things that you’d be having to worry about other than wrestling you.”
Crawford had never before shown an interest in switching to the UFC before Arum announced plans to negotiate a deal with White.

Despite the idea, the promoters appeared to have never discussed the two-fight proposal.
White did help promote McGregor’s lucrative boxing debut in 2017 which he lost in ten rounds against Floyd Mayweather.
White himself is still in talks with 43-year-old Mayweather, who is contemplating a comeback.
McGregor’s also appears to have a future in the boxing business having revealed talks to fight Manny Pacquaio, 41.
For now, he is instead plotting a return to the UFC to rematch Dustin Poirier – who he beat in 2014 – with the duo offered a headliner in January.
Afterwards, McGregor wants to fight Pacquaio, and will use his bout against southpaw Poirier, 31, to prepare for left-hander PacMan.

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DANA WHITE has been forced to shelve ZUFFA Boxing’s inaugural event amid challenges posed by coronavirus, reports say.
The UFC president has long planned to make a move into the boxing business as a promoter.

Dana White has been forced to shelve ZUFFA Boxing’s inaugural eventCredit: Getty Images – Getty

And according to Journal de Montreal, White planned to stage the Claressa Shields vs Marie-Eve ​​Dicaire title fight on December 11 in Las Vegas.
But, the proposal has now been axed due to problems caused by the Covid-19 crisis, The Athletic state.
And no rescheduling date has emerged either in a blow to Shields and other women champions like Amanda Serrano.
Before the UFC allowed Conor McGregor to fight boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in 2017, White first revealed plans to launch ZUFFA Boxing.

ZUFFA is an American sports promotion company owned by his close friends Frank and Lorenzo Ferttita.
The Ferttita brothers sold the UFC to WME-IMG – now known as Endeavor – for $4.4BILLION in 2016.
But White still wanted to launch a boxing promotion with ZUFFA and has been working on the scheme ever since.

Despite several hurdles since announcing the plan three years ago, the UFC boss told BT Sports his jump into boxing seems imminent.

He said in September: “I peaked under the hood a lot there for the last year.
“Looked at different things and I said, ‘I don’t know man, I don’t know if this is fixable.’
“Funny enough, since the pandemic I’ve been looking at other options too.
“And we’ll probably have something to announce here soon. When it’s time, I’ll let you know, I’m not ready yet.

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CONOR McGREGOR fighting ‘one of the greatest boxers of all time’ in Manny Pacquiao is ‘bonkers’, says UFC legend Joe Rogan.
McGregor made the surprise announcement in September that he was in talks to face Pacquiao in the Middle East.

Conor McGregor revealed he was in talks to fight Manny PacquiaoCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Joe Rogan called Pacquiao ‘one of the greatest boxers of all time’Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Instead, the Irishman appears set to return to the UFC after being offered a January 23 headliner against Dustin Poirier at lightweight.
McGregor, 32, later revealed he would use the fight against southpaw Poirier, 31, to help him prepare for fellow left-hander Pacquiao, 41.
But UFC commentator and podcast king Rogan fears for his chances against the eight-division, Filipino icon.
He said: “They’re actually talking about him fighting Conor McGregor right now, which is kind of bonkers.

“You’re talking about one of the greatest boxers of all time against a guy with one professional boxing match.”
The bout Rogan refers to is McGregor’s lucrative 2017 debut against Floyd Mayweather, which he lost in ten rounds.
Rogan went on to explain how the former two-weight UFC champion impressed against Mayweather, but was completely outfoxed by the masterful American legend.
He said: “Let me explain something to you. The reason why it was close was because Mayweather let him blow his wad.

Floyd Mayweather beat McGregor in 2017 Credit: Reuters

“Look, he clipped Mayweather with a legit left uppercut early in the fight and I was kind of stunned. I was like ‘Wow, that’s really legit.’”
“Here’s the thing, Mayweather had to figure out Conor’s timing. Because what Conor is, Conor is not a professional boxer, OK?
“So, because he’s not a professional boxer, he’s not as efficient and he’s going to get tired easier.
“Mayweather is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, boxer of all time. I say there’s a really good argument that he’s the greatest of all time.
“Because he’s undefeated, 50-0, and really only been hurt by ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley and [Marcos] Maidana.
“But, Conor is a freak. He is an explosive guy. He’s so fast and there’s no remedy for that other than getting a guy tired.
“So, what Mayweather was doing was boxing with him but preserving. Being safe, got clipped a couple times, realised Conor could punch.
“Conor can punch, but just drag him into deep water. Drag him into deep water and that’s what a guy like Mayweather will do.”

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CONOR McGREGOR has backed Mike Tyson’s retirement U-turn after the heavyweight legend claimed he was ‘revived by the gods of war’.
Tyson is set to face Roy Jones Jr in an eight-round exhibition this month, marking his first fight in 15 years.

Conor McGregor has backed Mike Tyson’s retirement U-turn

The 54-year-old explained his comeback came after his passion was sparked back into life and now he wants to show age is just a number.
He told Jim Gray: “Old guys, that word don’t even make sense. Old? This is just a new time, a new thinking period in our lives.
“This is what we want to do. Sometimes the gods of war, they revive you and say, ‘You have to do more.’
“Now I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t prepare for this. You know, I box people to see if I’m able to do this stuff, so I can do this stuff.

“[My skills are] good enough for this. Good enough to go eight rounds. I’m exerting myself, and this is going to be pretty interesting.
“I’m interested in waiting to see what happens as well.”
The words of wisdom had the approval of former UFC champion McGregor, who tweeted: “Hear! Hear!”

Irishman McGregor, 32, was also vocal about encouraging Anderson Silva, 45, to continue his career after the Brazilian’s farewell fight in the UFC.

He posted: “Real fighters never lose that fire so why try to force it out?
“Simply put time into finding the correct competition and continue on. The right competition is out there, for all levels and ages.
“Find it and do what you love to do! Forever!”

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