Conor McGregor predicts Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 2, will train the ‘Gypsy King’ for UFC

Conor McGregor is of course a legend in the UFC but, as some of you may remember, has also dabbled in the world of boxing. Rounding off preparations for Cowboy Cerrone this weekend, the Irishman recently spoke to our friends at BT Sport and, as well as predicting the February 22 Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 2 clash, declared that he still wishes to return to a sport in which he lost his debut in a commercial behemoth of a fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2017.

“I will secure a world title in boxing,” McGregor insisted. “I’ll have to go through all the weight divisions and check out all the champions and see who holds the titles in the divisions. Thankfully boxing has so many world titles you can just pick and choose. I’m immersed in what I’m doing right now, but boxing is an aspiration of mine and an aspiration I will achieve.”

Furthering the boxing connection, McGregor also discussed the possibility of training Tyson Fury for an MMA career. “The Gypsy King” is of course unbeaten in boxing and arguably the best heavyweight in the world right now, and dabbled in the world of WWE last year. He has often talked about moving into mixed martial arts and McGregor, though he does not know the boxer particularly well, is happy to help.

“I know Tyson’s been talking about it a lot,” McGregor noted. “Me and him spoke and I said that I would train him. I’d never spoken to Tyson in my life, but it’s not a bad little story so I let it roll. Tyson’s a good man, I like Tyson. He’s a great boxer, a phenomenal boxer, probably the best natural boxer in the heavyweight division at this time. So who knows. I don’t think he’s just saying he would do it, then not do it like a lot of them do, I say Tyson probably would do it in time. Maybe we could set something up, I’m not going to be holding mitts for him or anything, but if he wanted to be trained by me or even educated by me, I’d need to see him in certain positions or situations. I need to see him spar a heavyweight. I need to see him deal with the leg kicks. I’d need to see him in the bottom position and then I’d assess that and off he’d go. That would be something I could do for Tyson. I found it funny, he said we’d hugged and all this [laughing], I’ve never spoken to Tyson in my life. He’s a mad man, Tyson. It’ll be cool that he’s going to be there [at UFC 246].”

McGregor also found time, despite the imminent nature of this Saturday’s Las Vegas showdown with Cerrone, to predict Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 2.

“[Fury]’s got a good, tough fight with Deontay Wilder,” McGregor opined. “He’s a powerful guy, but if he keeps his mind strong, keeps his playfulness in there, keeps his sharpness and his elusiveness, he can do the job.”

BT Sport Box Office will show Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon, exclusively live on Saturday 18^th January, as he takes on Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone. UFC 246 will cost just £19.95 and can be watched on BT TV, Virgin TV, Sky, online via the web or the BT Sport Box Office App.