McGregor wants boxer on his turf

UFC CHAMP WON’T CALL MAYWEATHER OUT

Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor says he wants a boxer to “come into his world”, insisting he would beat America’s Floyd Mayweather in a rematch, the BBC reported this week.

The 29-year-old Irishman lost to ex-welterweight champion Mayweather in Las Vegas in August in one of the richest boxing bouts of all time.

McGregor, speaking ahead of the Dublin premiere of the documentary Conor McGregor: Notorious, said his next fight would be to defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title.

“Right now I am focused on my world, the world of true fighting,” he told the BBC.

“Ideally I would like to take one of the boxers into an MMA bout.

“I went into their platform and faced the so-called best-of-thebest and I handled him pretty easily in the early rounds before I got fatigued and was stopped.”

Mayweather, who returned after two years of retirement to take on the Irish mixed martial arts star, bided his time before exerting his superiority from the middle rounds onwards.

The match ended with a 10thround stoppage as Mayweather ended his career with a perfect 50- 0 record.

But McGregor said he would beat the 40-year-old American in a rematch by changing his training regime.

“He (Mayweather) was a tactical genius in there. He changed his gameplan three times and that is the sign of a true champion,” said McGregor.

Referring to a possible Mayweather rematch, he added: “He’s retired. I will not call him out. I respect what he has done.”

Asked if he would get back in a boxing ring, McGregor replied: “Of course. Boxing is certainly an interest of mine. But the next fight will be to defend my UFC lightweight belt.” – AFP