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Conor McGregor: I would beat Floyd Mayweather in less than 30 seconds

You can say a lot of things about boxing’s pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather. One thing you cannot say, however, is that he lacks confidence.

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So, then, perhaps when UFC featherweight contender Conor McGregor said this week that he would “kill” Mayweather in less than thirty seconds, maybe “Money” would appreciate the blinding braggadocio.

“I don’t look at a man who’s an expert in one area as a specialist. I look at him as a rookie in ten other areas,” McGregor said in an interview with Esquire. “If you can box, what happens if I grab hold of your legs? If you put me face-to-face with Floyd Mayweather—pound-for-pound boxing’s best—if I fought Floyd, I would kill him in less than 30 seconds. It would take me less than 30 seconds to wrap around him like a boa constrictor and strangle him.”

Conor McGregor plays to the crowd during a UFC press event. (Getty)
Conor McGregor plays to the crowd during a UFC press event. (Getty)

Hyperbole? Maybe.

Entertaining? Always.

Both McGregor and Mayweather have a penchant for slinging around grandiose statements. The only difference is, Mayweather has been a professional boxer since 1996, carries an Olympic pedigree, and is undefeated in 47 fights. McGregor, well, he’s fighting for his very first title this summer at UFC 189 in July against one of MMA’s pound-for-pound kings, Jose Aldo. This goes without mentioning that we are talking about two completely different sports, here.

That said, McGregor has seen a meteoric rise in MMA because of his mouth and his impressive ability inside the cage. People thought McGregor was insane when he said that – after only two UFC wins – he would be fighting Aldo by the end of 2015. Yet, here we stand.

McGregor-Mayweather will never happen. But leave it to the astute Irishman to drum up publicity for himself by throwing out Mayweather's name two weeks before the biggest fight in boxing history. Mayweather meets Manny Pacquiao on May 2 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

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