“I get itchy if I don’t have a fight.”
Less than an hour after his professional boxing debut had ended in defeat, Conor McGregor was being asked about who he would like to face next.
‘The Notorious’ lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. after he was stopped midway through the 10th round at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Mayweather had told the Dubliner that he would either go out of the ring on ‘your back or on your ass’ but McGregor walked out with his head held high. He took a shot at the greatest boxer of his generation and caused him a few problems in the early exchanges.
Both Mayweather and McGregor exchanged pleasantries at the conclusion of their bout and the mood was similarly cordial in the post-fight press conference. ‘Money’ announced McGregor’s arrival to the stage and talked him up as a tough opponent.
McGregor marvelled, on more than one occasion, about how composed Mayweather was throughout the fight. After taking a few questions whilst sipping on soon-to-be-launched Notorious Irish Whiskey, McGregor posed with Mayweather for pictures before returning to the podium.
Great to see this #MayMac pic.twitter.com/byLAI3PdxQ
— Darragh Murphy (@DarrMurphy) August 27, 2017
The final question of the press gathering elicited perhaps the most candid response from McGregor.
Reporter: “Is there anyone in the boxing game that you’d like to box?”
McGregor: “I’m certainly open, I’m open to what the UFC and what WME-IMG [the promotion’s owners] want and if [others] want me to come over to boxing, we can certainly talk.
“I’m young. 29 years of age. I don’t think the fighting world, or boxing world, has seen a man as confident as this come in. At this age and with this amount of accolades, records and this amount of revenue generated. I’m certainly open to more options.
“I have, certainly, many contenders in the mixed martial arts game. I’ve a trilogy bout with Nate Diaz that is sitting there.
“I’ve options. I’ll see what’s what. I’m here to fight and I’m certainly fresh to fight. I was not badly damaged there; it was fatigue. So we’ll see what offers come on the table.”
Despite the fact that sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi was gloating online after the fight, and the UFC interim lightweight title bout between Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson, it was interesting to see that Diaz was the only name mentioned by McGregor.
Handy, then, that Diaz was nearby.
50-0… ✅ pic.twitter.com/bjO6hbsBK8
— Ryan Greene (@ryanmgreene) August 27, 2017
Let the negotiations begin.
