Look I don't love or hate either fighter. I follow both MMA and Boxing. I admire Conor for what he's done in MMA and I like stand up fighting so great to see him bring that back to focus in MMA and show that it can compete and even beat the ground game. I cringe with Conor's trash talking and the levels that he goes to get into his opponent's head. Some admire that but I think if your technical ability is so good you don't need to drag things down like he does. Jumping over the ring at Aldo, keeps bringing in nationalities, racial undertones (Cholo, favelas), talks about rearranging his opponent's face so his family won't recognise them (Alvarez) etc. I also think the whole dancing monkeys thing in this upcoming fight was staged right from the interviewer asking him about Rocky III (WTF has this fight got to do with Rocky III???) and Conor readily answering by asking if that's the one with the dancing monkeys - the whole thing was setup. Then the "sing it for me beautiful Yaya (very weird and disrespectful to talk to an opponent's daughter (even if Floyd was an idiot bringing his daughter there) let alone an underage one. Then the whole "half black from waist down" and gyrating talking about giving love to his black female fans. Of course it's all just mind games and I don't actually think Conor is racist. But all very, very distasteful and I can only put it down to the fact that while his age might be 29, he's still very very emotionally immature. Even if it's all just trying to get a mental edge, it's distasteful even for a sport where they are trying to beat the crap out of each other. I hope that Conor does grow up though and becomes a fighter that not just the Irish and trashy support.
I also admire Floyd for his technical proficiency in boxing and his boxing IQ. Many find him boring to watch but they're just fans of guys punching each other and not the technical aspects of boxing.
Floyd is no hero with his history of domestic violence and jail time. While it seems that he has matured a lot since those days, that stigma is something he can never fully escape. Even besides that he's a rather distasteful dude, his recent interview where he talks about his Girl Collection strip club and how he started it because he knows that "breasts, vaginas, music and alcohol will never go out of style" was cringeworthy especially given there were women in the audience. Owning a strip a club, FFS. Dude has earned a billion dollars in his career and he invests it in strip clubs and gambling. Sure he's bought property and other investments, but having a daughter and running a strip club shows his class. He was very mature in this press conference but in his younger days he was a complete douche and his trash talking was just as bad as Conor's. Even against respectful opponents like Manny, he would be very disrespectful and that wasn't even that long ago. I think trash talk and mental games is an art form to do it within boundaries and I don't see either Floyd or Conor doing it well.
But this rags to riches story with Conor always gets me. Growing up in Dublin, having a working class job as a plumber but not being able to hack it so gives up, gets welfare from other hard working taxpayers (including plumbers), sleeps on his parent's couch and then lucking out that some nice father figure coach recognises your talent and nurtures it. How the fack is that rags to riches?? Of course he worked hard for it and believed in himself, that goes without saying and there is much credit to him for taking the risk. But it's not like he grew up in the hood and against all odds made it. Conor came from a fine working class family. When he was 5 years old, his parents bought a 3 br house with 2 bathrooms. When he was 13 they bought a 5 bedroom house. Five bedrooms! Does this look like facking rags to anyone?
Read this article http://www.independent.ie/style/cel...of-the-notorious-ufc-star-conor-34803633.html and you can see how great a foundation Conor had. His parents are so well grounded and his father is great.
Meanwhile, Floyd was growing up 7 people in one room in a ghetto while his crack whore mother was constantly high. His father sold drugs then went to jail. Floyd was a baby and used as a human shield by own father when his uncle pulled out a gun and shot him. How f*cked up is that! His main advantage to where he is today is growing up in a boxing family having ready access to gym and training. But that's about it and no doubt it was that dire situation, that no doubt many hundreds and thousands face in the ghettos and which leads 99% of them to a drugs and crime, instead made him focus on his boxing.
So in summary while they're both douches in their own way and no doubt both are hard working and credit to them both for that, there is only one rags to riches story here and it aint' Conor McGregor.
I also admire Floyd for his technical proficiency in boxing and his boxing IQ. Many find him boring to watch but they're just fans of guys punching each other and not the technical aspects of boxing.
Floyd is no hero with his history of domestic violence and jail time. While it seems that he has matured a lot since those days, that stigma is something he can never fully escape. Even besides that he's a rather distasteful dude, his recent interview where he talks about his Girl Collection strip club and how he started it because he knows that "breasts, vaginas, music and alcohol will never go out of style" was cringeworthy especially given there were women in the audience. Owning a strip a club, FFS. Dude has earned a billion dollars in his career and he invests it in strip clubs and gambling. Sure he's bought property and other investments, but having a daughter and running a strip club shows his class. He was very mature in this press conference but in his younger days he was a complete douche and his trash talking was just as bad as Conor's. Even against respectful opponents like Manny, he would be very disrespectful and that wasn't even that long ago. I think trash talk and mental games is an art form to do it within boundaries and I don't see either Floyd or Conor doing it well.
But this rags to riches story with Conor always gets me. Growing up in Dublin, having a working class job as a plumber but not being able to hack it so gives up, gets welfare from other hard working taxpayers (including plumbers), sleeps on his parent's couch and then lucking out that some nice father figure coach recognises your talent and nurtures it. How the fack is that rags to riches?? Of course he worked hard for it and believed in himself, that goes without saying and there is much credit to him for taking the risk. But it's not like he grew up in the hood and against all odds made it. Conor came from a fine working class family. When he was 5 years old, his parents bought a 3 br house with 2 bathrooms. When he was 13 they bought a 5 bedroom house. Five bedrooms! Does this look like facking rags to anyone?
Read this article http://www.independent.ie/style/cel...of-the-notorious-ufc-star-conor-34803633.html and you can see how great a foundation Conor had. His parents are so well grounded and his father is great.
Meanwhile, Floyd was growing up 7 people in one room in a ghetto while his crack whore mother was constantly high. His father sold drugs then went to jail. Floyd was a baby and used as a human shield by own father when his uncle pulled out a gun and shot him. How f*cked up is that! His main advantage to where he is today is growing up in a boxing family having ready access to gym and training. But that's about it and no doubt it was that dire situation, that no doubt many hundreds and thousands face in the ghettos and which leads 99% of them to a drugs and crime, instead made him focus on his boxing.
So in summary while they're both douches in their own way and no doubt both are hard working and credit to them both for that, there is only one rags to riches story here and it aint' Conor McGregor.
