McGregor backers: Mayweather fight is no sideshow

Tony Bellew has defended the arrangement of Floyd Mayweather’s bout with Conor McGregor, even if he believes the former is due “the easiest fight” of his career.

Mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor has never boxed as either a professional or amateur, but sparring partner Artem Lobov says the Irishman will blast the undefeated Floyd Mayweather when the two meet in Las Vegas on August 26. Two ridiculously in-shape athletes train for months for what ends up being only a few minutes of brain bashing before one fighter loses more brain cells than the other, with UFC adding kicking and wrestling to the mix.

Oddsmakers immediately made Mayweather a big 11-1 favorite in a fight that will take place in a boxing ring and be governed by boxing rules.

One of the keys to reaching those kind of numbers will be to convince people that McGregor really does have a chance in the squared circle against one of the greatest boxers of all-time, and White is already doing his part to build that hype.

One of the great trash talkers, too, who was just warming up on Wednesday when he told UFC chief Dana White what his intentions are.

Fitzsimmons: From a “Jeez, I have to watch this just to see what might happen” perspective, yes.

Ward returns to the ring on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay, when he faces former beltholder Sergey Kovalev in a highly anticipated rematch on HBO Pay-Per-View.

Mayweather brushed off the early talk, saying the rising star was mainly mentioning him to generate publicity for his UFC fights.

And I’m sure McGregor realizes that Mayweather is a defensive genius in the ring, so getting that shot will be almost impossible.

“I don’t think it damages the brand or Conor McGregor at all, I think it actually elevates Conor McGregor“, he said. In the other 23, Mayweather has demonstrated elite control and is widely regarded as the best defensive boxer of all time.

Li Jingliang, a leading Chinese MMA prospect who is also on Saturday’s card, said McGregor had the tools to upset Mayweather.

At the same time, Floyd Mayweather will have a lot to prove as well. If the fight was MMA, I’ll go with Connor.

After all the back-and-forth, Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather is finally happening.

Apart from Holm and Li, Joe Carr, who is the head of worldwide and content at UFC, also feels that McGregor has a huge chance to cause an upset and said that one punch could make all the difference.

Ranallo was evidently delighted with the honour to call such a huge fight and took to his personal Twitter account to thank fans who sent their congratulations.