WBO Super Featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko has offered to spar with Conor McGregor, ahead of the UFC star’s bout against Floyd Mayweather in Nevada on Saturday, August 26.
Lomachenko made his offer on his official Twitter account:
If McGr…
WBO Super Featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko has offered to spar with Conor McGregor, ahead of the UFC star’s bout against Floyd Mayweather in Nevada on Saturday, August 26.
Lomachenko made his offer on his official Twitter account:
If McGregor accepted the offer, Lomachenko would replace Paulie Malignaggi, who recently quit his role as sparring partner for the Irish UFC star. Since then, Malignaggi has been quick to offer disparaging opinions on McGregor’s skills as a boxer.
Malignaggi has toldTMZ Sports McGregor knows he would be beaten in a real bout, something the Italian wants. He also told Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour(h/tMartin Dominof theDaily Mirror) McGregor struggled to take his body shots.
Working with a boxer the caliber of Lomachenko, as unlikely as it seems, would surely sharpen McGregor up before he steps through the ropes to face Mayweather. Ukrainian Lomachenko boasts some of the quickest hands in boxing.
He’s a big puncher, but one whose swift combinations and nifty footwork truly set him apart. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum even compared Lomachenko to Muhammad Ali after the 29-year-old beat Miguel Marriaga August, per ESPN’sDan Rafael.
Lomachenko has called out McGregor before, donning a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles outfit to do so back in March, perStuart AtkinsofThe Sun. In May, Lomachenko also used Twitter to ask McGregor if he should try stepping into the Octagon:
Lomachenko’s willingness to put McGregor through his paces could be read as a further indication of how many in the boxing world would be happy to take the Irishman down a peg or two before Mayweather gets his chance.
Former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi (36-8), now an announcer for Showtime, knew something was up the minute he walked into the UFC’s new performance institute to square off for a second time with the promotion’s lightweight champion.
The first tim…
Former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi (36-8), now an announcer for Showtime, knew something was up the minute he walked into the UFC’s new performance institute to square off for a second time with the promotion’s lightweight champion.
The first time he’d sparred with Conor McGregor, who is preparing for a bout with boxing’s greatest contemporary fighter Floyd Mayweather, things were quite a bit different. That session was about putting in work, a private, gritty affair where the few men in the gym had to leave their cell phones in a box to ensure no unauthorized video or pictures leaked out.
“I wasn’t really in the best of shape,” Malignaggi, who retired in March admits. “I was in decent shape but not fighting shape. I told myself ‘I’m not going to be the only sparring partner there so I don’t have to be in great shape.’
“We did eight rounds the first day and I just wanted to make him work. If I am there for him to throw punches at and I’m in position to shoot punches back, then I’ve done my job. Once I reached a certain level of sharpness I thought I could really be a big benefit to his camp. I was excited to fly out a second time and was ready for a tough session.”
This time, a week later, dignitaries abounded. Surrounding the ring were the likes of UFC President Dana White, former owner Lorenzo Fertitta and McGregor’s agent Audie Attar. This sparring session, Malignaggi feared, wasn’t about preparing a fight. This was about proving a point and proving it at Paulie’s expense.
“I realized it was more of a personal agenda,” he says. “There was a dark intention to what Conor was doing.”
In a normal sparring session, fresh training partners rotate in and out so the fighter preparing for the bout is always testing himself against a hungry, rested competitor. It’s the fighter who is supposed to get tired and be pushed to the limits, not the sparring partner. So when McGregor’s team asked him to go all 12 rounds without a break, just like an actual fight, he knew their intent was to try to knock him out, not use him to get better.
But, unknown to Team McGregor, Malignaggi had done some sparring and training of his own in the days in between their sessions. He wasn’t happy with his performance the first time and wanted to be able to offer McGregor good work, not just a warm body. When he got the call this time, he’d vowed, he’d be ready.
Ultimately, that decision saved him from a fate worse than leaving camp and returning home. Instead of being able to boast he’d knocked Malignaggi out in training, the UFC champion could only post what the boxer calls misleading photographs from the session, a fight he says he got the best of.
“The second time we sparred, he had a very tough day with me,” he says. “But even though he was losing, there were times when things had gone bad for him, that he’d say ‘another one for me. 7 to nuthin—me.’ I’d comment back ‘they didn’t teach you how to count where you went to school?’ He wouldn’t be feeling the way he was talking if he’d been going back to his corner and being reprimanded and corrected for his mistakes.”
Worse for McGregor, Malignaggi contends, is that his mistakes are rarely mentioned or corrected, making his progress incremental instead of spectacular.
“He’s such a big deal and a lot of times these big deal fighters end up with cheerleaders in their corner instead of trainers who aren’t scared to tell them when things are going wrong. That’s a bigger problem than the tactical stuff,” Malignaggi says. “Conor has his own style. He knows what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. It’s just a matter of sharpening it up and making it work and linking it with some boxing stuff.
“Clearly they have a plan but some things are going to work and some things aren’t going to work. I think it’s important not to let a fighter get a false sense of confidence. I got the sense that there’s a lot of yes men in his corner. Even when things were going wrong, he was being told he was doing good. At the end of the day, people need to be blunt with you when there are things that need to be corrected.”
After the session, Malignaggi says he felt good about the work he’d done. McGregor, he says, thanked him for coming out and he’d felt they’d buried the hatchet after some rough back and forth in the media. When a photo leaked that made it appear he’d been knocked down by a McGregor punch, Malignaggi was disappointed—but not shocked.
“It’s one thing to talk about what happened in sparring, Malignaggi says. “It’s another thing to lie about what happened in sparring. Neither of those things is actually supposed to happen. I should have already know it was coming. I gave Conor the benefit of the doubt. I thought he would have a little bit of code and some ethics. But the guy’s got no morals, he’s got no ethics. He’s a scumbag who thinks he’s above everything and everybody. None of the rules apply to him.
“I should have known better. Chris Van Heerden, when Conor sparred him, had egg on his face afterwards when Conor’s team posted some misleading stuff. Luckily for him, he had video of the whole thing and people saw what really happened.”
Ultimately, Malignaggi decided he couldn’t continue working with McGregor, whose taunts continue unabated. But he walks away more excited than ever for the bout between the two champions.
“I’m sure Floyd has seen everything. We know that. But Conor has some things on his side,” Malignaggi says. “He’s young. He’s got a little bit of power. He has the ability to pressure and counter from his mixed martial arts fights. He’s just got to find a way to blend that into something that works in boxing.
“I dont’ think he’s a bad boxer and Floyd Mayweather was a great boxer—but that was the past. Mayweather is a guy who is aging. He’s 40 years old. He hasn’t had a fight in two years. It’s a matter of Conor finding the right moment in the fight. If you’re able to capture a certain moment, maybe you can change the momentum or even end the fight.”
Malignaggi, though disappointed with how things turned out, remains confident his experience inside the MMA fighter’s camp will help him when the time comes to call the fight on August 26.
“People are talking about me and Conor, because of all the beef that is going on, but we can visit that if the time ever comes,” Malignaggi says. “Right now I’m focused on Floyd and McGregor not me and McGregor. I think it’s a great fight and a great event more so than that.
“I’m really excited to share what I’ve learned on fight night. I’ll be able to give viewers some x’s and o’s about what I’ve observed in Conor’s camp. Some things I think will work, some things I think will not work. I think it will be an interesting broadcast.”
Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report.
The Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor world tour kicked off July 11 with four stops at major metropolitan cities across the globe. And with that, we can say, it’s really happening. This pipe dream of a fight that emanated from the eter…
The Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor world tour kicked off July 11 with four stops at major metropolitan cities across the globe. And with that, we can say, it’s really happening. This pipe dream of a fight that emanated from the eternally optimistic mind of McGregor has been willed into reality, and it is set to challenge the record revenue numbers generated by Mayweather’s superfight against Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
This is a different animal, however, and something that has rarely been seen at the elite levels of combat sports. It recalls the days of James Toney barking his way into an ill-fated matchup with former UFC champion Randy Couture.
We all remember how that one ended.
Nearly everyone in the know thinks McGregor-Mayweather will end in much the same way, with a one-sided drubbing that proves the obvious: that even a super-talent can’t go into another champion’s area of expertise and best him.
Still, this is a fight that has the sports world buzzing, and to offer the obvious, that mass appeal (translating into cold, hard cash) is the main reason such a fight will be sanctioned.
Really, though, it’s worth asking if that’s OK. In a sport where long-term health is at stake, is anyone interested in the safety of the fighters (i.e. McGregor) or are they all blinded by the dollar signs?
Joining me to discuss this is my colleague and MMA lead writer Chad Dundas.
Mike Chiappetta: I’m going to kick this off with the name Rohan Murdock. Who might he be? Less than two years ago, Murdock was put forth to the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) as an opponent for undefeated super middleweight boxing champion Andre Ward. At the time, Ward was 27-0 while Murdock was 18-1. Guess what?
The Nevada commission rejected the fight as a mismatch.
Murdock had 19 pro fights, but he had never faced any elite competition, while Ward was already considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Less than two years later, 0-0 McGregor has been approved to face the greatest boxer of this generation, the 49-0 Mayweather. While it’s true that the makeup of the commission has changed a bit since then, current executive director Bob Bennett was already in his role at that time, as were three of the five current commissioners.
Given their extensive experience, they should understand the huge chasm in boxing skills between McGregor and Mayweather, and they would be within their rights to refuse to sanction it. In fact, some might even suggest that they had an ethical obligation to reject it.
Still, I can’t be an absolutist about this. I must try to put myself in their shoes and understand why such a decision would be nearly impossible to make. With so much money at stake, the fight is going to be made somewhere. Budget shortfalls across America are crippling states, making the prospect of turning down a cash injection from tourism and taxes unpalatable. There must be some pressure from the top to pull this off without a hitch, as if it’s some kind of heist. (And in a way, it is.)
On one hand, no one wants to be a party pooper. This fight is going to be one of the sports events of the year, and fans are incredibly excited about it. That’s a great thing!
On the other hand, what does the commission exist for if not saying no to such folly? Their short mission statement includes the phrase “The Commission administers the State laws and regulations governing unarmed combat for the protection of the public and to ensure the health and safety of the contestants.”
By approving this fight, are they abandoning that pledge?
Chad Dundas: I have to admit it looks pretty damning on the surface, Mike, especially when you start things off by throwing out the Murdock example. If all we had here were the numbers, it would look unjustifiable to throw a man with zero professional boxing fights out there against the greatest pugilist of his generation.
The fact is, Mayweather’s worst sparring partner probably has more boxing experience than McGregor.
But—as you note—we’d be naive to think the NSAC was ever going to do anything besides quickly rubber-stamp a fight of this magnitude.
And you know what? In this case, I’m OK with it.
Maybe, as an MMA reporter, I’m just sticking up for my guy here, but I have a hard time framing McGregor as a helpless sheep who’s being thrown to the wolves. Do I think he’s going to get unbelievably schooled by Mayweather in their boxing fight? Of course I do.
But I don’t fear much for McGregor’s physical health in this matchup.
He’s not just some jerk off the street, after all. McGregor has been fighting professionally for nearly a decade, has been at the pinnacle of MMA competition for the last two years and is the first man ever to simultaneously hold two different UFC titles in two different weight classes.
If he were going out there to fight an in-his-prime Mike Tyson, I might consider it unconscionable malice to sanction this fight. But the truth is, he’s not.
Mayweather has never been a particularly ferocious offensive fighter. Most likely, he’ll foil McGregor’s amateurish style with his peerless defense and movement and cruise to a unanimous decision.
Make no mistake, Mayweather will win the match in a landslide, but I don’t think McGregor’s in tremendous danger of grievous bodily harm.
Am I wrong, Mike?
Chiappetta: When we think of Mayweather, we consider him as a strategic boxer. He’s patient and crafty, and he creates traps for opponents to fall into. That’s been his standard operating procedure for two decades. Because he takes his time, we don’t view him as a “dangerous” fighter, but when we take into account the skill differential, isn’t it possible that Mayweather opens up his offense in a way that he won’t do against actual peers?
Generally, I tend to agree with you, Chad. It’s more likely that McGregor will leave with some bruising, a black eye, and a whole lot of cash than it is that he gets knocked out cold and hard. But what’s the point of going through the dog and pony show of sanctioning fights if not thinking about these hard questions?
According to the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC), a commission may approve a fight if the following information is similar: boxing record, boxing experience, boxing skill and physical condition.
Everyone on the Nevada commission would have to admit that in only one of those categories are Mayweather and McGregor “similar”: the last one.
Is that enough?
Again, I’m not saying I don’t want to see it or won’t watch. I do, and I will. Some of what I’m saying is hypocritical. But the commission is supposed to be better than me and you. They are supposed to think about the things fans (and fighters) don’t want to think about, and they are supposed to put the health and safety of the athletes first. It is crystal clear that is not happening here. It is crystal clear that is not even a remote concern.
McGregor may not get brutally knocked out, he may even have a couple of good moments, but for the most part, the chasm between him and Floyd should make everyone uncomfortable.
That the Nevada commission could overlook that so casually makes me think not just about this August spectacle, but about the other decisions they are making in the name of money or staying in the good graces of powerful fight promoters.
I’m sure everyone involved with the commission is blinded by the money involved or the spectacle of it all, but come fight night, that is one group that is going to be watching breathlessly in hopes that nothing goes sideways.
Am I being too harsh on them, Chad? You seem less bothered by their rubber-stamping, so what responsibility do you think they have here?
Dundas: I don’t think you’re being too harsh. I think you’re mostly on the money. In a theoretical way (and most practical ways, too) I agree with you. Those are all the things that a state athletic commission is supposed to do, and it’s not too harsh to want to hold them to the standards they are meant to keep.
But anyone who has ever had the misfortune of sitting through an NSAC meeting—either in person or streamed online—has had any notion of it as a pristine and wholly principled body dashed in a heartbeat. You and I have both probably seen athletic commissions in a number of states do things that made us cringe, Mike.
In my view, sanctioning a fight like Mayweather vs. McGregor is far from the worst thing I’ve seen an athletic commission do. This fight may be way out on the fringe of what is appropriate, but for now, I’m OK with it.
McGregor might be a fish out of water here. He won’t win this bout—or, if he does, it’ll be the biggest upset in the history of modern sports—but he’s a still a high-level professional fighter. He ought to know how to defend himself enough to at least keep it from getting scary.
And maybe I’m playing both sides of the coin here, but if we are going to have a borderline spectacle fight like this, I feel better having it in Las Vegas. At least in the fight capital of the world the commission, referee, ringside officials and physicians stand a good chance of being highly experienced.
I’ll take that over having this fight in Missouri or Texas or almost anywhere else—and we both know that’s what would’ve happened if the NSAC had turned up its nose and refused to sanction it. The promoters and fighters would’ve packed up the circus tent and kept moving until they found a state willing to give the green light.
Maybe I’m wrong, Mike. Maybe the things that await McGregor inside the boxing ring will be so horrific that it changes my mind. Maybe I’ll regret that this fight was ever made.
TMZ Sports reported Friday that Gervonta Davis will compete in the co-main event of the Aug. 26 card Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor headline.
While Davis’ opponent has yet to be determined, the 22-year-old rising star said it has been narrowed…
TMZ Sports reported Friday that Gervonta Davis will compete in the co-main event of the Aug. 26 card Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor headline.
While Davis’ opponent has yet to be determined, the 22-year-old rising star said it has been narrowed down to two possibilities.
Davis is a perfect 18-0 with 17 knockouts, including a third-round decimation of Brit Liam Walsh in May to retain the IBF junior lightweight title.
The Baltimore native fights under the Mayweather Promotions umbrella.
“In early 2014, Gervonta Davis signed with boxing manager/advisor Al Haymon. In June of 2015, Davis met Floyd Mayweather during one of Adrien Broner’s training camps. Later that year, he went on to sign with Mayweather Promotions…
“… In the future, Davis hopes to capture world titles and make millions of dollars inside the boxing ring so that he can achieve financial stability through business deals outside the ring that will enable him to take care of his family and motivate young people from similar backgrounds to believe in their dreams.”
Per TMZ, “Gervonta says he’s been training his ass off with Floyd and says he’s confident he can knock out McGregor, too!”
WBO Super Featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko has offered to spar with Conor McGregor, ahead of the UFC star’s bout against Floyd Mayweather in Nevada on Saturday, August 26.