If you were in the gym witnessing the preparation of “The Notorious One” for his upcoming boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather Jr., you’d believe he has a legitimate shot at downing “Money” for the first time in his career.
That’s according to McGregor’s boxing coach, Owen Roddy, who recently spoke to MMA Fighting to discuss this weekend’s (Sat. August 26, 2017) blockbuster match-up. Roddy claimed that the battle lines were drawn as soon as the fight was announced, with fans picking who they’ll be riding with almost immediately (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“It’s all part and parcel of it at this stage,” Roddy said. “Everyone picked their side when the fight was announced, no matter what you do, they’re going to stick with their side. To be honest, that’s always the case.”
While money is a huge factor as to why both men accepted this fight, Roddy claims that McGregor’s main motivating factor is proving his doubters wrong, as nearly nobody is giving the Irish knockout artist (in mixed martial arts) a shot against the 49-0 legend:
“People were on the fence about this, even in the MMA community, but when you see what he’s doing, the work rate and the effort that he puts in – it’s hard not to believe that he can do this,” Roddy said. “Even just speaking to him you can tell that this isn’t a payday. This about proving people wrong and proving that he can do what many people feel is impossible.
“The thing is, with Conor, he proves people wrong all the time. He always sets himself these targets of doing the impossible. Nobody gives him a chance and then they hear him speak and they see what he’s doing, then they become believers. It happens every camp.
“The magnitude of this fight has made him rise to the occasion. He has done that time and time again. This is the biggest fight of his career and because of that we have a bigger, stronger, faster and more confident Conor.”
Although McGregor is no stranger to being under the bright lights in the combat sports world, Roddy admits that when he steps into the ring against Mayweather, it will certainly be the biggest task of his fighting career:
“The bigger the task, the more motivated he gets to prove people wrong. There is no one else on earth that sets themselves tasks like Conor does.
“This is the biggest task of Conor’s career to date and that’s driving him harder than ever. He knows he can do it again and so do all of us. He has done this time and time again and the outcome will be the same on Aug. 26.”
Boxing purists find it nearly offensive that some MMA fans and media are giving McGregor a legitimate shot at defeating Mayweather, but according to Roddy, if you were in the gym watching the work the UFC 155-pound champ has been putting on – you’d believe too:
“We’ve been doing this for four years now. Every time what Conor does blows me away. I’ve seen firsthand what Conor has been doing in this camp and I know that he’s capable of knocking Mayweather out.
“There is no doubt in my mind. If everyone saw Conor in the gym, they would believe too.
“We reached different milestones throughout the camp. We’ve gone from amateur boxers to pro boxers, all the way up to world-class boxers. After seeing what he has done at each step of the way you just can’t doubt him. It removes all doubt from the equation.”
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