By Keith Idec
Conor McGregor reminded Floyd Mayweather Jr. and anyone else that doubts him Wednesday what happened the last time he was an underdog.
McGregor recalled that all he heard during his previous trip to Toronto was that he couldn’t beat Jose Aldo, then UFC’s dominant featherweight champion. The Irish southpaw was a slight underdog entering their fight at UFC 194, but needed just 13 seconds to knock out Brazil’s Aldo in their December 2015 fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Aldo was 25-1 entering their match and hadn’t lost in more than 10 years.
That victory made McGregor a superstar and set him on the path toward what could develop into a nine-figure payday for his 12-round, 154-pound boxing match against Mayweather on August 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The powerful McGregor, who’ll turn 29 on Friday, is an even bigger underdog against Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs). Mayweather is 40 and hasn’t fought in nearly two years, but McGregor never has participated in a professional boxing match.
That obvious disadvantage and the 5-1 odds on their fight mean nothing, according to what the two-division UFC champion told a huge, pro-McGregor crowd during a press conference at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto.
“Toronto, what a city,” McGregor said. “What a city. What a city. I was here one time, two years ago, three years ago. I was also on a world tour. I was also on an unconquerable quest. I was facing the damn No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, Jose Aldo. They said the same things then as they’re saying now. They said I had no chance. They said I’m in over my head. They said he kicks too hard. ‘Too many weapons. The Irishman’s gonna fall short. He doesn’t stand a hope.’ It took me 13 seconds.”
McGregor also reprimanded media members and fans who’ve lambasted Mayweather-McGregor as a complete mismatch and shameless money grab that shouldn’t have been scheduled. It is him, McGregor maintains, that should be considered the heavy favorite over an undefeated five-division champion who hasn’t lost since the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
“I just wanna speak to all the boxing p*ssies, all the little pundit p*ssies, supposed experts,” McGregor said. “You’re f***ing crazy if you think this man stands a chance. His head is too small. One shot is all it takes me. Check the facts. I bounce heads off the canvas and dribble that sh*t. He tip-tap-toes to a decision. He’s never even fought a day in his life. He’s a runner. He’s boxing’s biggest bitch.”
Mayweather and McGregor will continue their four-city, four-day press tour Thursday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The promotional tour will end Friday at Wembley Arena in London.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
