Patrick Hyland once almost sparred Conor McGregor drunk.
While we’d have paid good money to see that, there was probably more to be learned from the several sober sparring sessions that the pair of Dubliners have spent together.
Hyland, a veteran featherweight with a pro-boxing record of 31-1, is one of the most recognisable names in Irish boxing and he’s traded punches with the single biggest name in Irish MMA.
“I’ve sparred with Conor a few times,” Hyland said during an interview with BoxingNews. “Some friends of mine are friends with John Kavanagh and we were out drinking one night after he’d had his first big win, and I kind of follow MMA so I said, ‘Geez he’s getting big now, if you want I can do a bit of boxing sparring if you need it.’ I didn’t realise how big he was!”
The fact that both are listed as featherweights would lead you to believe that the size difference wouldn’t exactly be huge but boxing weight classes are typically much lighter than those in MMA. Hyland usually weighs in at around 126 lbs while McGregor must make 145 lbs.
“There’s a clip of us on YouTube, he asked if I wanted to do some MMA for a round because I follow it a bit. I agreed, he threw me all around the ring. That was a few years ago, every other time it’s just been boxing sparring with him.
“I went over to the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in May and he was in Vegas at the time as well, he sent me a text asking if I wanted to spar. I was like, ‘mate I’m over here having a drinking session!’ and he wanted to bloody spar. Typical Irishman, he said, ‘if you’ve had three or four drinks you can do three or four rounds, you’ll be grand.’ But we didn’t, I said ‘no thanks pal, best of luck!’”
With what he’s done in such a short space of time, it’s easy to forget that Conor McGregor is still only 27 years old. The lucrative fight deals he’s being offered by the UFC will mean that he’s unlikely to swap the octagon for the ring. But Hyland believes that The Notorious has what it takes to make it in boxing.
“We usually do it over in Ireland in the SBG Gym. He’d do good if he moved into just boxing, he’s a slick southpaw with fast hands. I really think he’d do well in the boxing game. He started out boxing at Crumlin boxing club and I remember him at a novice championships beating up one of my friends so I remember him from that as a good boxer.
“We’d do loads of rounds, 15 minutes straight, stuff like that. He’s very technical, he’s very good, there’s no fear and he can handle himself well just boxing.
“His speed stood out for me and obviously the fact that he’s a southpaw, he has great movement and he’s in and out.
“His accuracy as well is good, like most good boxers. That’s why I think he’s knocking everybody out in the UFC because he’s catching them well. If you watch all the other guys they’re just swinging haymakers and Conor’s just putting them in nicely, throwing his shots properly.
“He takes his time, he’s a perfectionist. He’s an absolute machine in training, I’ve watched him train and he gave me some tips on other stuff to help me.
“He takes his time, he picks his shots and he goes in there with a game plan. Even in sparring you can see he’s trying to work out which shots to land on me and get away in time.”
