Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Bells ring for Conor
*THAT’S FLOYD’S 64-YEAR-OLD DAD, WHO SAYS EVEN HE COULD BEAT THE UFC CHAMP IN THE RING
Mcgregor to wed
CAGE fighter Conor Mcgregor is predicted to swap rings again after his £500million boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.
This time pals are forecasting the 29-year-old bruiser will go down on one knee and pop the question to girlfriend Dee Devlin.
One said: “Word is 2018 is when he’ll take the plunge.”
The couple, who have a baby boy after dating for eight years, could walk down the aisle as soon as next summer in Dublin.
And guests will be as curious to see what Conor is wearing as the bride. The Irish Mixed Martial Arts superstar is famous for his sharp suits – and has already had one made for three-month-old “mini-me” Conor Jnr.
The UFC champ, known as The Notorious, is the second richest sportsman in Ireland after golfer Rory Mcilroy and is flying mates out to Las Vegas for the fight on a private jet. But Mayweather, 40, has never lost in the ring and is odds-on favourite to win in the early hours of Sunday.
BREAK
Tens of thousands of Irish and British fight fans have already descended on Vegas and Virgin Atlantic said fights from UK airports have been “jam-packed”.
But the pal, who has travelled to Sin City for the fight, says Conor will be celebrating whatever the result.
He added: “The last few years have been all about his career and becoming a family. The Mayweather fight has taken up much of his time this year, but he’s taking a break after it.
“It’ll be the biggest wedding Dublin has seen. Conor doesn’t do things by halves. All he has to do now is pop the question.”
Mcgregor and Dee met in a Dublin nightclub in 2009 and he credits her with driving his ambition to succeed. He once said: “She stuck by me when I had essentially nothing.”
The pay-per-view fight is set to be the most lucrative boxing clash in history and Mcgregor will pocket up to £75million.
RESPECT has become the buzzword in Las Vegas but someone forgot to tell Floyd Mayweather’s dad.
After the trash talk of the extended build-up and the scrimmaging at the ceremonial arrivals, the mood within the two camps ahead of tomorrow night’s fight has changed.
Mayweather Jr, 40, spoke of Mcgregor being a “stand-up guy” and a “hell of a fighter”.
Conor Mcgregor did not return the compliment in full but protested that BOTH were not getting the respect they deserved. It is business time for the pair, in and out of the ring. As they look to take the pay-per-view numbers beyond the five million mark and sell some of the remaining tickets – with the cheapest being over a thousand dollars, there are still a good few left – the message they want to get across is that this will be a close, brutal, hard-fought contest.
Mayweather Sr is having none of that. “I told Mcgregor I would knock him out,” said the 64-year-old, who is back in his son’s camp.
“I told him, ‘When my son has whipped your a*s, I will do it next’. That confidence Mcgregor has got? It’s going nowhere. We are going to take him out to the body – that is what is going to happen.
“I’m not gonna call the round but all I am telling you is that Mcgregor is a dead man.
“All I would say is that he is a clown and he is fighting a real fighter. But that’s why so many people want to see it... because it is a joke.”
All strictly off-message. Mayweather Jr (with Mcgregor in Vegas, below) has been quick to admonish a couple of his entourage who have spoken out of turn and says he is ready for a lot of “blood, sweat and tears”.
But his father was articulating what many believe – that Mcgregor cannot cause one of the best boxers of modern times any trouble and that the contest will be some sort of farce.
Mcgregor, 29, has become increasingly irked by that perception, saying: “The naysayers can say what they want.
“We are going to fight. They have been disrespectful, there has been disrespect from different people.
“We are two athletes, at the end of the day, and we should be respected for that.”
Mayweather insists this will be his farewell fight but Mcgregor sees it as just another rung on his ladder to sporting fame and riches.
He added: “I believe I’m the star boxing craves. Although they may be showing me disdain and disrespect for entering this game, I think, deep down, they love me.”