Esther Lin, Showtime Sports
As Conor McGregor prepared for his 2017 showdown with Floyd Mayweather, there were concerns that the mixed martial artist would flout the rules and just go after the undefeated boxer with every weapon in his arsenal.
Of course that didn’t actually happen and McGregor stayed within boxing limits during his nearly 30 minutes spent in the ring with Mayweather.
Now a few years later as McGregor is once again attached to a potential boxing match against Manny Pacquiao, he’s lamenting that he actually followed those rules rather than give Mayweather a taste of a real fight.
“The very first shot of the fight. Right on the button through the guard,” McGregor said on Instagram with a photo from his fight with Mayweather. “I didn’t even put anything into that shot. Just placed it. It was hard for me not to dwell on the full 12 rounds that were potentially ahead of me and hold back my shots early. Still tho right on the absolute button. The first punch thrown. Remember the experts saying I wouldn’t land even 1 lol. I landed more than them all.
“The picture above is the very first punch of the fight thrown, and landed, and inside the very first second of the fight. Bums all of them ‘experts.’ Listen to none of them! Really I should have just sat right thru that shot and took his head off and f**k the distance. If it didn’t work out just give him a good boot into the neck and get DQ’d and fined and who’d give a f**k. I’m upset I fully followed the rules for that fight to be honest. Floyd deserved a volley at the least. A shoulder even, break the face.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Sep 26, 2020 at 5:55pm PDT
McGregor can’t say that Pacquiao would deserve the same kind of treatment, although he seems to think veteran trainer Freddie Roach might change his mind in the lead up to that potential fight.
Of course if McGregor does break the rules and get disqualified, he’s happy to report sales on his Proper No. 12 whiskey have reached half-a-billion in sales, which means he can definitely afford whatever fine is levied.
“Manny not so much tho I don’t think, but I will see how the build up goes and wait to hear what bitter old Freddie Roach has to say and then make a decision,” McGregor said. “My Whiskeys at half a b and climbing I could take a fine.”
While he was talking about boxing in his post, McGregor also voiced his frustration about not getting the opportunity to compete in MMA beyond his lone fight earlier this year against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Following that win, McGregor touted plans to stay very active in 2020 but instead he didn’t book another fight and ultimately decided to “retire” from the sport.
He’s also engaged in a war of words with UFC president Dana White over promises made and broken as he attempted to earn another fight this year.
McGregor even name dropped Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who holds the purse strings for ESPN — the UFC’s broadcast partner on television and pay-per-view.
“I’d rather fight MMA anyway not sure why I’ve been held back like this, it’s borderline criminal at this stage,” McGregor said. “The biggest number generator in the game asking for four fights since February this year and getting left on seen. It’s pretty f**ked up when I keep thinking of it. I’ve been right here this whole time.
“Bob Chapek, do you copy! I repeat, Bob Chapek – Do You Copy! Anyways boxing it is for now and I’m up for this! I hope no bottling takes place here. I’m already agreeing to these limited rules and holding back my full array of weapons. Let’s get it going guys.”