Even during a fight he’s not part of, Conor McGregor managed to be the bout’s headliner.
The brash Irishman, who was at The Theater inside Madison Square Garden to watch his countryman Michael Conlan win his pro boxing debut, stormed press row after the fight for an exchange with ESPN boxing writer Dan Rafael.
“Are you the boxing guy?” McGregor said to Rafael, Yahoo Sports reported. “Watch me take over boxing, trust me on that. No one in this boxing game knows what’s coming. Trust me on that. I’m going to step in there and shock the whole God damn world.”
McGregor’s rant seemed to stem from Rafael favoring Floyd Mayweather in a potential megafight, which is inching closer to reality. The UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champion and current lightweight champion never has been inside a boxing ring for a professional bout.
But that has done nothing to halt his bravado.
“Look me in the eyes, 28 years of age, confident as [expletive], long, rangy, dangerous with each hand,” McGregor said. “Trust me, I’m going to stop Floyd, and you’re all going to eat your words. The whole world is going to eat their words.”
Mayweather arguably is one of the greatest defensive boxers in history with an unblemished 49-0 record. Nevertheless, he has been stunned in fights before, most notably against Marcos Maidana.
That may be why McGregor, who would have a one-inch height advantage and two-inch reach advantage over Mayweather, is ready for the potential bout to become official.
“It’s getting close,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll hear about it. I’m out of here.”
But not without making a statement first.