McCullough: I Can Train McGregor, Get Him Ready For Mayweather

By Carlos Boogs

Former WBC bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough believes that he can turn UFC superstar Conor McGregor into a "pure boxer."

Last year, the MMA champion secured a license to box with the California State Athletic Commission.  McCullough retired from the sport in 2008 with a 27-7 record. He held the WBC title from July 1995 to January 1997.

McGregor is claiming that he plans to pursue some notable fights in the sport of boxing, although UFC President Dana White makes it clear that his company has an exclusive contractual hold on McGregor that prevents him from becoming an active boxer.

According to McCullough, he tried to reach out to McGregor a year ago and says his countryman blew him off.

Very few boxing fans were impressed after watching McGregor struggle in a sparring session with welterweight contender Chris Van Heerden of South Africa. McCullough watched the sparring session as well, and believes he can make McGregor a much better boxer than Van Heerden. 

“I said it a year ago, I tweeted him, ‘come to me and I’ll teach you real, professional boxing’,” McCullough told Irish podcast What’s The Story. “I know the guy he was sparring with, the South African guy and I can make Conor way better than him, I can make Conor into a pure, professional boxer.”

McGregor, for most of 2016, was calling for a fight with retired former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. 

During his pro career, the 46-year-old has sparred with Mayweather and feels confident that he can properly prepare McGregor for that fight.

“I’ve sparred with Floyd Mayweather,” McCullough added. “Floyd knows what way Wayne McCullough was. Floyd said out of his own lips that I’m the toughest Irish fighter he’s ever seen. He knows how tough I’ll train Conor.

“Conor would be ready, 100 percent. I know a way to try and beat Floyd. Nobody knows how to beat him but if that fight does happen I can make Conor ready. I think I could train him in three months, but it’s another Irishman who lives around the corner from me and wouldn’t come to me — wouldn’t even respond to me.”