Search icon

MMA

03rd Aug 2015

Irish Olympic medallist wants to make Conor McGregor an even better boxer

A lethal duo

Kevin McGillicuddy

The Pocket Rocket meets the Notorious

MMA, as the name suggests, mixes various forms of historic combat but it’s often a more common form of skill that wins fights inside the octagon.

Boxing, and being able to land accurate punches, forms a huge weapon in the arsenal of any UFC fighter and Conor McGregor is no different.

From his stance to his quick feet, it’s clear the Dubliner has watched more than one of two pugilists in history.

And, in a country known for the success of its boxers, it’s no surprise that one of our most famous Olympic medal winners thinks he’d like to spar with the Notorious and maybe teach him a thing or two.

Wayne McCullough famously won a silver medal at the Olympics in 1992, and he’s revealed today that he feels he could help the current interim UFC champion improve his boxing even further.

I’d love to spar with him and teach him a few of the methods that I was taught by my coach Eddie Futch. You can always get better. It’s hard to get to the top but it’s harder to stay there. He’s not quite at the top, he has to fight Aldo.

The former professional boxer, who quit the sport seven years ago, was in Las Vegas last month for Conor McGregor’s title fight with Chad Mendes.

He admits he’s been impressed by the Dubliner but also that there is a much deeper character behind the infamous trash-talk

“With Conor, he says what he’s going to do and he does it. Conor has backed up everything he has said he’s going to do. It’s great to see.

“Next year, he’s probably going to go to Croke Park and sell it out.”

The boxer also feels that he could have been a success in UFC if he had come to the sport instead of boxing.

“I would have definitely went to UFC, no question about it. You can actually hold somebody and hit them at the same time. In boxing, when somebody runs away you can’t hit them.”

H/T Irish Independent