McGregor ready to come out swinging after talk with Buffer
Chance meeting with boxing legend cheered up Edinburgh fighter after his bout cancellation
LEE McGREGOR isn’t normally one for selfies with celebrities but, in a twist of fate, the cancellation of his European title defence led to a chance meeting with one of boxing’s icons, and the aforementioned selfie.
Tonight, McGregor should have been taking on Armenia’s Narek Abgaryan in Manchester in what would have been the second defence of his European bantamweight title but earlier this week, he pulled out of the bout citing injury and personal reasons.
So, instead of putting the final touches to his preparation, he ended up on a short break in Dubai with his family and, purely by chance, meeting one of the biggest names in the sport; the legendary ring announcer, Michael Buffer.
“I was going to an event when we were out in Dubai and I was in the same hotel as Buffer. Heading out to it, we ended up in the lift together, just me and him. I never normally do this because I don’t want to be a pain to these guys but I asked for a quick selfie; I just had to ask him,” the 24-year-old says.
“And then after the event, I was about to get an Uber home and he was waiting for his car. One of the organisers of the event knew who I was and when I said I was waiting for an Uber, he said just jump in Michael’s car.
“Buffer didn’t know who
I was but he was great. I introduced myself and he told me some stories – and told me to go vegetarian.
“As we were getting out the car, I said to him I hoped I was going to remind him of this journey when he’s announcing me as having won my first world title and he shook my hand and said hopefully that’s what happens.
“It’d be a pretty mad story if that comes true.”
It wasn’t the way McGregor thought things would pan out this week, and it’s scant consolation for disappointment of the cancellation of his fight, but the Edinburgh fighter, who boasts an 11-0 record, is in no doubt postponing his title defence was the right thing to do.
A hand injury picked up while on a recent training camp in Las Vegas, coupled with a horrific accident which saw his dad hit by a lorry and end up in intensive care, meant that postponement until early next year was the sensible choice.
“With the injury, I was trying to convince myself that I was alright. Then when I was in Vegas, I got the news about my dad,” he says.
“I was trying to put it all to the back of my mind but there’s no way I was where I wanted to be to fight.
“I’m in a much more positive place now than when I left Vegas, especially after seeing
my dad. He’s still in a bit of a mess in terms of broken bones but the main thing is he’s still here. It was that serious – he could have easily died.
It’s going to be a long road to recovery for him but he’s ok.
“I’m at the level now that I can’t afford to go into fights at anything less than 100 per cent. I might be losing out on a bit of money this weekend but fighting when I was injured could mean I could lose this fight and it could change the course of my whole career.”
A hotly anticipated rematch with compatriot, Kash Farooq, who McGregor narrowly defeated two years ago, is on the horizon, with the Edinburgh man confident it will materialise once he’s taken care of Abgaryan.
McGregor is clearly relishing the prospect of that rematch but before that, his sole focus is on this rescheduled bout, meaning any planned celebrating over Christmas and new year has had to be reined in.
The change of plan has been hugely unwelcome, but McGregor is not one who has ever been hindered by setbacks.
“It’s going to be hard to watch the fights tonight – I don’t know if I even will watch because I’m so gutted mine is off,” he says.
“I’ve built up a tolerance to setbacks in my career, though.
“I’ve been through family tragedy and three fight cancellations because of Covid so I’ll be ready to go as soon as I get this new date.
“It means Christmas is cancelled for me but I’m not too bothered that all the celebrations are off.
“The amount of setbacks I’ve had in my life, I could easily have gone off the rails – it’s happened to a lot of fighters but I’m built differently and whatever is put in my way, it won’t stop me from achieving my childhood dream, which is becoming world champion.”