Tag: Mayweather vs. McGregor Megafight

Mayweather vs. McGregor: Schedule, Preview for Showtime ‘All Access’ Episode 2

We are now less than a month away from the megafight involving undefeated and former champion Floyd Mayweather and UFC champion Conor McGregor.
The fight will be held a the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas August 26, and Showtime continues to follow the two…

We are now less than a month away from the megafight involving undefeated and former champion Floyd Mayweather and UFC champion Conor McGregor.

The fight will be held a the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas August 26, and Showtime continues to follow the two fighters with its All Access series.

The second episode is scheduled for Friday night at 10 p.m. ET, and while the first All Access showed the two men as they toured North America and the United Kingdom and promoted the fight, this one will have a much greater focus on the differing training camp preparations.

In addition to the physical work the two men do to prepare for their historic fight, the Showtime production will demonstrate the inner workings of their teams, thought processes and confidence levels as they get ready for the epic confrontation.

Mayweather and his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., attempted to win a psychological battle in the first episode by pointing out that McGregor had never been in the ring with a true boxer, let alone one with a 49-0 record. They also pointed out that McGregor had lost before in the UFC, including by tapping out.

McGregor handed out at least as much as he took in the war of words. He demonstrated little respect and no fear of Mayweather, and he was able to get the crowd on his side at several of the promotional locations.

The second episode is much more likely to reveal the inner preparations that both fighters are going through.

The Mayweather-McGregor bout will be available on Showtime pay-per-view at a cost of $89.95 ($99.95 for high definition).

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Paulie Malignaggi Says Conor McGregor’s Sparring Is Improving

With less than a month before Conor McGregor’s superfight with Floyd Mayweather, sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi saw encouraging signs from McGregor after watching the UFC champion train. 
“I think the intensity Conor’s reaching is starting to …

With less than a month before Conor McGregor’s superfight with Floyd Mayweather, sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi saw encouraging signs from McGregor after watching the UFC champion train. 

“I think the intensity Conor’s reaching is starting to show in the hard work he’s put into camp,” Malignaggi said, per ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto. “I think he’s getting better and better. I really felt improvements from two weeks ago to now … I do see a guy who is implementing more and more of what they want to do in their game plan.”

Malignaggi has been sparring with McGregor to help him prepare for Mayweather in the ring.

While working with Malignaggi should help him on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, McGregor still faces what is nearly an impossible task of closing the gap on one of the best defensive boxers in the history of the sport.

McGregor’s a very good striker in the realm of mixed martial arts, and 18 of his 21 victories have come via knockout. If he has an opening, he can end the fight with one punch. But that’s far easier said than done against the 40-year-old Mayweather, who didn’t look to have lost a step in his most recent fight, a unanimous decision win over Andre Berto in September 2015.

McGregor shared a video of his training on June 29:

In doing so, he unintentionally illustrated the gulf between himself and Mayweather, who also posted a training clip on the same day:

According to OddsShark, McGregor is a 4-1 underdog against Mayweather.

McGregor may be able to silence his critics in Las Vegas in a little over three weeks, but many more experienced fighters stepped into the ring against Mayweather with the same intention and exited in defeat.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Paulie Malignaggi Says Conor McGregor’s Sparring Is Improving

With less than a month before Conor McGregor’s superfight with Floyd Mayweather, sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi saw encouraging signs from McGregor after watching the UFC champion train. 
“I think the intensity Conor’s reaching is starting to …

With less than a month before Conor McGregor’s superfight with Floyd Mayweather, sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi saw encouraging signs from McGregor after watching the UFC champion train. 

“I think the intensity Conor’s reaching is starting to show in the hard work he’s put into camp,” Malignaggi said, per ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto. “I think he’s getting better and better. I really felt improvements from two weeks ago to now … I do see a guy who is implementing more and more of what they want to do in their game plan.”

Malignaggi has been sparring with McGregor to help him prepare for Mayweather in the ring.

While working with Malignaggi should help him on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, McGregor still faces what is nearly an impossible task of closing the gap on one of the best defensive boxers in the history of the sport.

McGregor’s a very good striker in the realm of mixed martial arts, and 18 of his 21 victories have come via knockout. If he has an opening, he can end the fight with one punch. But that’s far easier said than done against the 40-year-old Mayweather, who didn’t look to have lost a step in his most recent fight, a unanimous decision win over Andre Berto in September 2015.

McGregor shared a video of his training on June 29:

In doing so, he unintentionally illustrated the gulf between himself and Mayweather, who also posted a training clip on the same day:

According to OddsShark, McGregor is a 4-1 underdog against Mayweather.

McGregor may be able to silence his critics in Las Vegas in a little over three weeks, but many more experienced fighters stepped into the ring against Mayweather with the same intention and exited in defeat.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Floyd Mayweather Suggests He’ll Make $300 Million for Conor McGregor Fight

Floyd Mayweather Jr. expects to make over $300 million for fighting Conor McGregor on Aug. 26.
Appearing on Showtime’s All Access: Mayweather vs. McGregor, Money said he believes he can trump the mammoth payout he earned for his May 2015 superfight aga…

Floyd Mayweather Jr. expects to make over $300 million for fighting Conor McGregor on Aug. 26.

Appearing on Showtime’s All Access: Mayweather vs. McGregor, Money said he believes he can trump the mammoth payout he earned for his May 2015 superfight against Manny Pacquiao.

“I mean, am I the highest-paid athlete out there? And just coming back? We not talking about no contract,” Mayweather said, according to TMZ Sports. “We not talking about no contract for no four years, or no contract for no five years. I can do it in 36 minutes. $300 (million) or better. In 36 minutes.”

The conditions of the purse split between Mayweather and McGregor won’t be made public according to the terms of the confidentiality agreement both parties signed, but it stands to reason Mayweather could flirt with $300 million if the fight sells well.

However, that doesn’t mean he will hit that audacious monetary milestone.

ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell and Dan Rafael reported Mayweather raked in between $220 million and $230 million for fighting Pacquiao—a figure that was buoyed by $455 million in pay-per-view sales.

In his latest projection, Rovell anticipated the fight would gross just north of $606 million, which would leave it $17 million behind the total Mayweather and Pacquiao hit two years ago.

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Floyd Mayweather Confirms He’ll Wear 8-Ounce Gloves in Conor McGregor Fight

Seemingly every detail for the Aug. 26 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor has been heavily debated, and the size of their boxing gloves was not immune as a source of contention.
However, Mayweather announced Tuesday that he plans to use …

Seemingly every detail for the Aug. 26 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor has been heavily debated, and the size of their boxing gloves was not immune as a source of contention.

However, Mayweather announced Tuesday that he plans to use eight-ounce gloves for the upcoming bout.

“I’m telling McGregor, ‘Let’s fight in 8 oz gloves,'” he wrote on his Facebook page. “McGregor can fight in any brand he prefers or chooses. I’ll be wearing 8 oz Grant gloves. Whatever advantage McGregor needs to feel more comfortable in the ring, I’m willing to accommodate.”

UFC president Dana White explained back in April that glove weight was one of the sticking points on a potential deal due to the vast difference between boxing and mixed martial arts equipment. As Alan Dawson of Business Insider noted, UFC gloves are usually around four ounces with open fingers, while boxing gloves often range from eight-to-10 ounces.

As Keith Idec of Boxing Scene reported, McGregor believed Mayweather was pushing to use as much as 10-ounce gloves due to the heavier weight class for the bout.

However, during the first press conference, Mayweather said he would be willing to make his opponent more comfortable. “If you want four-ounce gloves, let’s put on 4 ounce gloves,” he said, per Mauro Ranallo of Showtime Boxing.

It appears they have compromised on a deal to use eight-ounce gloves in the highly anticipated bout.

It remains to be seen whether this will make a difference, but the lighter gloves could only help McGregor as he makes the transition from MMA to boxing for the bout.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Conor McGregor, Paulie Malignaggi Sparring Got ‘Out of Control,’ Says Joe Cortez

Veteran boxing referee Joe Cortez revealed in an interview Monday that a recent sparring session between reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi got heated.       
Cortez discussed the situation with R…

Veteran boxing referee Joe Cortez revealed in an interview Monday that a recent sparring session between reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi got heated.       

Cortez discussed the situation with Randy Gordon and Gerry Cooney on SiriusXM Boxing:

McGregor is in preparations for his first professional boxing match, which will be a clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

In the interview (h/t Anton Tabuena of SB Nation’s Bloody Elbow), Cortez said McGregor acquitted himself well against Malignaggi before things started getting out of hand:

“He handled himself pretty good with Paulie. That guy can pop. He was in there mixing it up a little bit with Paulie, and it was the real thing. They was no messing around. In fact, I had to stop the action, and I had to say, ‘All right, guys, you guys are a little out of control here, you gotta stop this.’ It got a little rough.”

Cortez also said he had to shut down the trash-talking between McGregor and Malignaggi while also trying to get them to have a clean sparring session:

“They were both roughing each other up, and I had to stop the action like in a regular fight. They were holding too much, they were trying to punch each other. I mean, it got a little bit out of control where I had to call ‘Time!’

“[I said], ‘All right, guys, you gotta stop this right now. I want a good clean round. Give me sportsmanlike conduct. Understand? I don’t want to take any points from either one of you. Do you understand?’ I looked at them, and they said, ‘OK, all right.’ And I said, ‘Time in.'”

Malignaggi boasts a 36-8 career record as a professional boxer, and he is a former welterweight and junior welterweight champion.

According to Sky Sports (h/t BoxingScene.com), Malignaggi has been impressed by what he has seen from McGregor: “It makes me respect McGregor to see his work ethic that he’s put into the training camp. Seeing him work hard every day and see that he’s really determined to upset the odds.”

The 29-year-old McGregor is 21-3 in his career as an MMA fighter and became the first UFC fighter to hold two titles at the same time (featherweight, lightweight).

He is easily among the top draws in combat sports, and his star power is undeniable. But he is stepping into an unfamiliar realm.

Mayweather is a perfect 49-0 in his boxing career, and despite being 11 years McGregor’s senior, his vast amount of experience makes him a significant favorite heading into the fight.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com