Conor McGregor stirs up boxing world, too

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is taking a break until May, when he and partner Dee Devlin are expecting their first child. He showed no interest in defending the featherweight belt, and when faced with the choice of holding onto one, kept lightweight. But he showed no interest in defending that one, either, calling undefeated #1 contender Khabib Nurmagomedov as a pull-out merchant. Notorious expressed slight interest in challenging for the welterweight title. The only contest he appears interested in is a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. McGregor recently received a license to box in California.

Mayweather, who is interested in the fight, got the trash talk going by saying their comparative records are that of an elephant to an ant. And now despite McGregor taking a break, the boxing world is interested.

Oscar De La Hoya, the head of Golden Boy Promotions told FightHub.tv that McGregor should fight not Floyd Mayweather but Canelo Alvarez.

“Would love to talk to him, and promote him,” said DLH, as transcribed by Tim Burke for BE. “I mean, imagine Conor McGregor and Golden Boy coming together. But the only fight I would like to see, and this is the one that makes the most sense, it would be the most exciting, that would be a guaranteed knockout, is against Canelo Alvarez. And they’re in the same weight class. So it makes all the sense in the world. Imagine. 154. 160. It would be at 160 actually.”

Former IBF junior welterweight and WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi called out McGregor via a video posted on his Twitter.

“At first I was telling Conor to stay in his lane and I was thinking you are going to embarrass yourself, but if you are really going to disrespect the sport of boxing like that then I would like to be the one to teach you that lesson,” said the boxer, as transcribed by ESPN.

“I would never disrespect your sport and tell everybody I could beat the best fighter in the cage. You shouldn’t come to our sport and tell everybody you could beat the best fighter in our sport in a ring.

“I know you apologize about absolutely f***ing nothing, but after I am done with you – I am going to knock the beard off you homie – you are going to be apologizing for everything you have been trying to do to get in the boxing ring.”

McGregor replied at a Q & A event in Northern Ireland.

“Who the f*** is that guy?” said McGregor, again. “I don’t know who the f*** that is but I’ll slap the nose off him if he ever mentions my name again.”

Australia’s Michael ‘The Great’ Katsidis joined the chorus.

Without any disrespect to a man who’s physical achievements are of a world champion — Conor, you compete in MMA,” said Katsidis to Ryan Keen for the Gold Coast Bulletin. “Octagon is one thing, boxing ring another. If McGregor ‘The Notorious’ wants to come into my sport, let’s see how he goes coming up against ‘The Great.’ The Great V The Notorious — that’s fight of the year right there, waiting for your call back McGregor, let’s do it.

George Foreman even weighed in.

Defeating Mayweather is out of the question,” said the legend. “Time will defeat [McGregor]. Mastering boxing is mastering all martial arts. [Floyd Mayweather] has mastered defense and stamina.

Here is what the prescient McGregor had to say about the whole thing back in May.

I run boxing.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 14, 2016