Sports Then and Now

Conor McGregor took most of the big hits during his battle with Floyd Mayweather.

Las Vegas’ T-Mobile arena saw Floyd Mayweather surpass Conor McGregor with a tenth round stoppage on Saturday, and win the money spinning super fight, alongside clinching the 50^th straight victory of his extraordinary career.

Mayweather Took His Time on Saturday

Mayweather, as a former welterweight boxing champion, emerged from a retirement spanning two years to face the Irish MMA superstar, and took his own sweet time to get the fight started. After the fourth round began, however, his domination was complete.

The end of the fight saw an exhausted McGregor doubled over the ropes and Mayweather landing two hard left hooks, an action which prompted ref Robert Byrd’s intervention, and his call of a technical knockout.

Mayweather Remains Complimentary about McGregor

Mayweather stated that McGregor impressed him, and that the Irishman was far better than he had imagined he would be. He went on to say, however, that although McGregor was a tough competitor, he had been the better man that night.

The Slow Going a Deliberate Move

Mayweather said that he had purposefully taken his time as the match began, since he knew that this would allow him to take full advantage of the fatigue he predicted McGregor would be battling.

In accordance with many of the punters that partook of the online betting NZ and the rest of the world provided, Mayweather was certain that McGregor would be unable to go the distance, and he was proven correct, as the tenth round revealed. Read the rest of this entry →

Does the 11 year age different give the youthful Conor McGregor an advantage against 40-year-old Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Mayweather has carried on with the mind games in the lead up to his super-fight against Conor McGregor, most lately by acknowledging his younger opponent’s advantages.

McGregor Looks Good on Paper

Mayweather, speaking to ESPN, has said that the physical differences between him and his rival meant that, theoretically, McGregor looked good for the win.

Mayweather also conceded that he was older now, and far from the fighter he once was, and that the age gap of 11 years gave McGregor a considerable edge. He went on to say that not only was McGregor was a lot younger than he, he was also taller, with a longer reach.

Mayweather Takes Time Off of Criticizing Conor

When he was questioned as to why he was not taking this chance to once again verbally assault his opponent, Mayweather replied that facts were facts, and that he had to acknowledge his age. He went on to say that he knew he was not the same fighter that he had once been, even two years ago, and that Andre Berto managing to go the distance with him was indicative of the advantages he no longer had access to because of his age.

Mayweather stated that his knockout ratio had once been 90%, and that it was obvious that he had started slipping, and his age had started taking its toll on his ability to fight as he once had. Read the rest of this entry →

The hype is in full swing for the Floyd Mayweather fight against Conor McGregor.

Michael Page, the British fighter, has stated the obvious: if Conor McGregor wins the upcoming August fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. it will be the biggest upset in the history of sport. He went on to say that the last time the world experienced anything like this win would be was when Leicester won the Premier League, and that McGregor winning would overshadow that, in just one boxing match, in the unlikely event that he managed to best Mayweather.

Mayweather Lets McGregor Fight with Gloves He’s Used to

Mayweather has been keeping his mouth shut, relatively speaking, in the build-up to the Vegas showdown, but he has recently dropped a bombshell: he has told McGregor to forget about the ten ounce gloves he should wear for the fight, and stick to the eight ounce ones he’s more used to instead!

The Buzz of the Press Conference Showdowns

McGregor has claimed that he emerged the winner in each round of his promotional tour alongside the undefeated Mayweather, but one of the biggest criticisms he has had to contend with were allegations of racism due to more-insensitive-than-usual comments he made. Australian sports betting sites and those around the world have been lapping up every minute of the sensational exchanges, but there are many people that feel that McGregor went too far a number of times.

The claims arose after McGregor told Mayweather to dance for him, calling him boy, as well, a moniker with severe racial overtones. His attempts to diffuse the furore that resulted only added gasoline to the fire, with a further uproar resulting from McGregor’s statement that he was half-black, below the waist. He also referred to black people as dancing monkeys when discussing the third instalment of the Rocky films on a chat show.

Trash Talk Started Early On

McGregor had previously laid into Mayweather about reports over the latter’s unpaid taxes, with the IRS claiming that the boxer owes them more than US$20 million in unpaid taxes from 2015. This was the year that Mayweather enjoyed his biggest payday to date thanks to the blockbuster bout against Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather’s rather tame response was that his domain was intact, but this affected McGregor’s taunting not a jot, and he continued to tease the champion about the money he allegedly owes the US government. McGregor even commented on what Mayweather was wearing, saying that the boxer could obviously not afford a suit, and that the money he owed was the reason behind the fact that he was dressed in just a tracksuit. Read the rest of this entry →

Conor McGregor will have to keep his feet on the ground during his battle with Floyd Mayweather.

Conor Anthony McGregor was born on the 14^th of July in 1998, and is an Irish pro MMA fighter who is currently signed to the UFC. He is the reigning champion for the Lightweight division of the UFC, and a former champion of the Featherweight division as well. Over the course of his fighting career, McGregor has taken part in fights for three divisions:

1. Featherweight
2. Lightweight
3. Welterweight

McGregor’s Early Life in Dublin

McGregor was born to Tony and Margaret McGregor in Crumlin, Dublin, and was raised in that town, attending Gaelscoil and Gaelcholáiste in primary school and Coláiste de hÍde in Tallaght in secondary. He developed his passion for athletics at this time, playing association football for the Lourdes Celtic Football Club. He took up boxing at the town’s boxing club at 12-years of age as well.

The McGregors moved to Lucan in Dublin in 2006, and Conor started attending Gaelcholáiste Coláiste Cois Life at this point. After this he began a plumbing apprenticeship, but, luckily for fighting fans the world around, he met up with future fighter for the UFC Tom Egan at this point, and together they started training for the MMA.

A Two-Division Champion in 2016

On the 27^th of September 2016, there was an official announcement that McGregor would be facing Eddie Alvarez for the Lightweight UFC Championship, UFC 205, set to take place on the 12^th of November. McGregor triumphed with a second-round TKO and won the fight. Read the rest of this entry →

The initial press conference between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor illustrates that the draw for their August 26th fight will be as much about hype and fighting skills.

The fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor was confirmed in June this year, and is set to take place in Las Vegas on the 26^th of August.

Fighters Have Fun on Social Media

Mayweather confirmed the fight with a social media post in June, with strident Irishman, Conor McGregor, jokingly posting a photo of himself with Floyd Mayweather Sr., the boxing legend’s father, minutes before the official announcement was made.

It’s Been a Long Time Coming

This supreme money fight and crossover boxing match between the UFC champion and undefeated boxer was in the works for more than a year, but it has finally become a reality, and supporters are going wild. When the betting markets opened it was no surprise that Mayweather was the favorite, coming in at -2250, with McGregor coming in at +950. When the official fight announcement was made Mayweather’s odds slipped to -800, and McGregor came back at +500. The odds continue to move as the fighters spar through the media and the hype builds.

One Totally Triumphant Athlete vs. Another

Floyd Mayweather, at 40-years old, won 49 bouts before he retired in September 2015, and is widely held to be one of the finest defensive fighters in history. He prides himself on being able to evade the punishing blows of his opponents by skillfully moving around the ring, and is excellent at making whatever adjustments are required in order to best his adversary on the fly.

Conor McGregor, whilst being the first UFC fighter to hold two belts at the same time –when he knocked Eddie Alvarez out in New York in November 2016 for the lightweight championship – and being both the reigning lightweight champion and former featherweight champion, has never boxed in either a professional or amateur capacity. He is also as well known for his bravado as he is for his volatile knockout power inside the MMA octagon, however, and has remained a firm favorite with the best bets NZ bookmakers offer punters. Read the rest of this entry →