Conor McGregor has been confident about his chances against Floyd Mayweather Jr. since the moment their superfight became official.
A lot has been said in the lead up to the Aug. 26 tilt, which perhaps is the most highly anticipated boxing match in years. Some of the trash talk has been humorous, while some has been downright stupid. But one of the most interesting quotes to emerge from the fracas actually occurred right after Mayweather agreed to fight.
“McGregor just said, ‘The man has made a grave error. This is going to be Bruce Lee s**t. This is water becoming the cup,’ ” McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, said on “The MMA Hour” on Monday. “First of all, I read that and I went, ‘Oh, the Mayweather fight is actually on.’ I didn’t quite believe it until then, so that blew me away, and my brain starts racing, ‘okay, I’ve got to put certain wheels into motion.”
So what exactly did “The Notorious” mean by that?
“I don’t think it was until a couple of weeks later, or maybe days later, that I kinda read again and I realized what he was saying about the Bruce Lee water quote — that the ruleset might change and the strategy will change, but the fundamentals remain the same.
” … If you take an MMA fighter and you put him in a kickboxing match or a wrestling match, or a self-defense situation, the rules of engagement certainly change and that will affect your strategy, but the fundamentals of timing, of distance, of range, of how to hit hard, different striking techniques, they will remain the same.”
Thankfully, we’ll learn whether that sentiment is true once Saturday arrives. And, according to McGregor, it won’t take long for him to teach everyone — especially Mayweather — a lesson.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
