Just 10 days away from his epic showdown against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Conor McGregor spoke with reporters on a conference call about his professional boxing debut and to silence any of the doubters about his chances to pull off the major upset.
One of the big questions leading up to the fight was answered Wednesday when ESPN’s Brett Okamoto passed along word the Nevada State Athletic Commission approved the request to let Mayweather and McGregor wear eight-ounce gloves.
“I’m very happy with the way the NSAC handled it today,” McGregor said during the call, via MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. “They were very fair throughout.”
McGregor also held firm in his belief that the fight won’t go past the second round now that he gets to use a lighter glove than the traditional 10-ounce ones used in a fight contested at 154 pounds.
“There is no way in hell that I’m not ready to fight in the deepest of trenches,” McGregor said, via MMA Fighting. “I don’t believe he makes it out of the second.”
Another key piece of business announced by the NSAC was Robert Byrd being given the task of serving as referee; Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Guido Cavalleri were chosen as the judges who will score the bout, per Steven Marrocco of MMA Junkie.
McGregor had no criticism for Byrd or any of the judges selected or the process used to choose each of them, per ESPN’s Dan Rafael.
“Byrd is a good ref,” the UFC superstar said, via MMA Fighting. “He lets the fight take place. He has some links to MMA. His wife is an MMA judge.”
Moving onto Mayweather, the man who will be standing on the opposite side of the ring trying to knock him off his perch, McGregor isn’t intimidated by stepping into his opponent’s world to determine the better fighter.
“I do not care about his record,” he said, per Rafael. “I do not care about his achievements.”
In addition to not caring about Mayweather’s record or achievements, McGregor laid into anyone who doesn’t believe his ability will translate to boxing.
“The disregard and disrespect of my skillset, their minds are closed,” said McGregor, via MMA Fighting. “I look forward to going in and educating.”
Addressing his normal day job as a UFC fighter, McGregor said he still believes himself to be both the promotion’s featherweight and lightweight champion. He was the first person in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously after beating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt last November.
However, as a result of his inactivity in the division, McGregor was stripped of the featherweight title. He still holds the lightweight title, despite not defending it since his victory over Alvarez.
McGregor issued a challenge to Mayweather while throwing the undefeated boxing star’s own words back at him:
Even though the odds of Mayweather ever stepping into the Octagon are virtually non-existent, McGregor was able to talk himself into a boxing match with one of the biggest stars in the sport.
McGregor lacks the experience and professional training going into the Aug. 26 showdown, but he’s doing everything in his power to make sure the world knows he’s going into it with his confidence high and is preparing to knock out Mayweather.
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