Four minutes into the media briefings that followed Mayweather vs. McGregor press conference No.1, Floyd Mayweather Jr was asked a questioned many have pondered.
Gareth A. Davies asked ‘Money’ if he was worried that Conor McGregor may ‘revert to MMA’ if he found himself in trouble during their boxing match.
“That’s the referee’s job,” said Mayweather. “My job is to go out there and fight.”
It was Leonard Ellerbe, chief executive of Mayweather Promotions, that then suggested McGregor would lose a sizeable chunk of his pay-day. Still, that did not stop McGregor from suggesting he would have no qualms about breaking out some mixed martial arts moves… if his buttons were pushed.
During a spot of verbal sparring with Floyd Mayweather Sr, the champion boxer’s father and trainer, McGregor declared:
“Don’t get your lawyers after me Senior, will ya? I thought this was a fight and now we’re getting into legal stuff and everything. We’re having a fight mate. Don’t get your lawyers after me, please!”
McGregor had been enjoying the back-and-forth with Mayweather Sr. but he then got very serious, very quickly.
Credit: UFC on FOX“Senior, Senior, tell him as long as he speaks my name with respect, I will abide by the boxing rules. I’ll abide by the Marquess of Queensbury rules, only if he speaks my name.
“If he disrespects me during this tour or during this business, then maybe I might bounce an elbow off his eyebrow. So that’s on him, how he does it.”
Mayweather Sr. fired back that he would rush the ring and knock McGregor out if he carried out his ominous threat. ‘The Notorious’ had a response to that too.
“Here’s the thing,” he said, “listen to this.”
“By the time you climb up into the ring, from the steps, he’ll already be bust open from the eyebrow down. I’ll catch you stepping in through the ropes.
“If I catch him or strangle him in that fight… [laughs] Ooooo that’s fast! Ah stop!
“No, no, I’ll abide by the rules… As long as he’s nice, quiet and respectful, I’ll follow the rules. If he doesn’t, if his head drops down low I might just wrap it up in a strangle.
“You know it takes three seconds to sleep a man from a strangle. An untrained neck – not used to it – it takes two seconds. So if I wrap around his neck and strangle him, he will be asleep in two seconds on the canvas in that ring.”
Chilling stuff from McGregor.
The ‘Queensbury Rules’ interchange between McGregor and Mayweather Sr takes place from approximately 36 minutes [below].
And this was only on the first night.
