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MMA

03rd Feb 2016

Former cruiserweight champion thinks Conor McGregor “would actually make a good boxer”

High praise

Darragh Murphy

Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather.

The fantasy match-up that’s never, ever going to happen.

The UFC featherweight champion and the recently retired pound-for-pound best fighter in the world have been at odds with one another for months. One will post a disparaging message on Twitter, the other one will respond in an interview. There’s no end to it.

Former WBO cruiserweight champion and current Sky Sports pundit Johnny Nelson was asked about the hypothetical fight that’s on everybody’s lips and he’s not surprised that ‘The Notorious’ has sent out the invitation.

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“He’s (McGregor) even challenged Floyd Mayweather,” Nelson told WhoaTV. “He’s saying ‘come on, have a piece of this action.’

“Floyd won’t do it. Floyd ain’t stupid, man. He won’t do it.

McGregor Mayweather

“And I’ll tell you now, I wouldn’t do it. When I heard that Julius Francis was doing it (turning from boxing to MMA), I was thinking ‘are you mad? Is he mad?’

“And he got taken out in no time at all.”

Nelson has recently become a fan of MMA, having been drawn in by a Ronda Rousey fight, but he’s since become aware of McGregor due to the viral video of him training with Game of Thrones actor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.

“Now I saw Conor McGregor,” Nelson said. “And I’m not saying I’m jumping on the bandwagon.

“But I saw him sparring with this big, huge monster of a guy. The guy couldn’t touch him, he (McGregor) was in and out.

“And I thought ‘he’d actually make a good boxer.'”

After explaining the attributes necessary to become a successful boxer, Nelson brought up the fact that McGregor also possesses those same traits.

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“You’ve got to have that speed, that agility and that’s why Conor McGregor is so successful at what he does,” Nelson added.

“It’s because he’s got fast hands, he’ll trick you with the hands, dummy up and take you out – BOOM- from a distance, from a southpaw stance. The boy is rated!”

Watch Nelson’s full interview with WhoaTV below.