While McGregor walked away with a loss on that night, one thing he did gain was the respect of boxing legend Mike Tyson.
“Listen, (it was a spectacle) but this is where it’s not a spectacle - it’s a spectacle but this is where it’s not: he never really had a boxing match in his life, right? He didn’t have a boxing match (and) he went 10 rounds with the greatest fighter in the last 100 years of boxing,” Tyson said on Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson (via Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting). “Think about that. . . He went 10 rounds, scored punches on the greatest fighter in the last 100 years. Did he do something? Did he accomplish something? People ain’t looking . . . but look what he had to fight against and look what he did when he fought against it. Imagine a guy never had a boxing match and he’s fighting boxing with me. He goes 10 rounds and he’s fighting me and we’re fighting. Imagine if he did (go 10 rounds) and we’re fighting and I’m doing my thing. That’s a bad motherf*cker. First fight, 10 rounds with the champ, the best champ in the last 50 years or something like that. Pfft, that’s the winner of the fight! That’s the winner. This should’ve been a one round, two round fight. Floyd should’ve took it easy, (but) he had to sweat, he had to fight him. He had to fight somebody who was throwing back.”
McGregor heard what Tyson said about him on the podcast and would issue the following on Twitter, promising to beat Mayweather if they meet again:
Thank you Mike, and just know that for the inevitable rematch, with the knowledge I now hold of Floyd’s style, plus under the tutelage of my old school boxing coach, I will crack the puzzle, and I will beat Floyd.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 15, 2020
I promise my life on it.
It is great to see you back Iron Mike https://t.co/NDrVnEaukm
There is no word yet on when McGregor will fight in either boxing or MMA again, as he last fought in the main event of UFC 246 earlier this year.
