CONOR: I WILL BECOME A GOD
CONOR McGREGOR claims he will be a “god of boxing” after his fight with Floyd Mayweather.
The Irish MMA star will take part in his first boxing bout on August 26 when he bids to end Mayweather’s 49-fight unbeaten record.
Given McGregor’s lack of experience and Mayweather’s reputation as one of the sport’s finest defensive fighters, many pundits are predicting a mismatch at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
But McGregor, a two-weight UFC champion who has previously claimed he would beat Mayweather inside four rounds, remains confident he can shock the world.
“I have a gameplan and I will execute it perfectly, like always,” he said in Las Vegas.
“I have been boxing my whole life so this is not a new experience for me.
“I will rule over MMA and boxing with an iron fist after August 26.
“The critics say that Floyd has been there before. They discredit my training, my skills, my accomplishments. This isn’t new GRAY DAY: Westwood struggled on the tee and on the greens
SO often the bridesmaid – this time Lee Westwood has barely been invited to the wedding.
The Englishman made the cut in the year’s final golf Major of the season at Quail Hollow by two shots at three over par, 11 shots behind the halfway leaders Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama.
Westy has finished in the top 10 of a Major 18 times in his career, with 10 of those finished being fourth place or better.
But any thoughts of a charge to glory from Worksop’s finest faded quickly yesterday after a horror start from the nine-time Ryder Cup star.
A bogey at the first followed by a six on the par-four second saw him tumble to six over par for the week.
There was more misery on the 249-yard par-three sixth as well before a birdie on the driveable par four eighth briefly saw Westwood’s spirits rise.
But on the toughened layout at Quail Hollow, where conditions would be more suited to a US Open, another bogey followed on the ninth.
He steadied the ship after the turn, where five pars in a row followed by a to me though, just like boxing isn’t new to me. I am no stranger to being the underdog on paper.
“I am a seasoned veteran and I am confident that I am the better man. After August 26, I will be a god of boxing.”
Mayweather (below) has seen off the likes of Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya during his professional boxing career and is aiming to surpass Rocky Marciano’s record and move to 50-0.
But McGregor believes he can end the flawless record of Mayweather, 40, in “the biggest fight of all time”. He said: “The story of the fight will be waiting to see who takes a step back first.
“We all know Floyd is a great defensive boxer and he isn’t going to keep coming forward like he says. If he does, it’s going to be a quick night for me.
“I’m going to knock him out bad. He’s too birdie and yet another bogey saw him sign for a 75 to end round three seven over par.
There were no such troubles for American JB Holmes, though, as he charged up the leaderboard after his opening rounds of 74 and 73.
Holmes was five under par for his round through the first 10 holes, proving a good score was achieveable on moving day.
Bogeys at 11 and 13 saw Holmes falter slightly before two more birdies at the 14th and 15th.
He made another bogey on 16 but his seven birdies against three bogeys gave him a fine round of 67 as he finished on one over par going into today’s final round.
Open champion Jordan Spieth’s slim hopes of getting back into contention took a nosedive when he bogeyed the first, fourth and seventh, although the world No.2 did at least birdie the eighth and ninth to repair most of the early damage.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy also got off to a bad start with two bogeys in his opening five holes before a birdie on the seventh. small. I know he’s fast and he has good reflexes and is experienced but I don’t care.
“I hit you, you fall – and that’s it. He will be unconscious.
“If we go to 8oz gloves, which we are close to, he will be unconscious inside two rounds. Maybe one round.
“The 10-second count will maybe let him survive into the second. If we stay at 10oz gloves maybe he will last four rounds.”
A video of McGregor sparring with Paulie Malignaggi was also released yesterday, which showed the Irishman landing a number of clean shots before the American hit the canvas.
Malignaggi left McGregor’s training camp last week after a fallout over the release of images which he felt did not accurately show how the sessions had gone.
But McGregor said: “He was looking for a way out. Things were not good for him. He suffered a lot of head trauma.”