Floyd Mayweather has called on referee Robert Byrd to curb Conor McGregor’s ‘extremely dirty’ tactics when the two collide in Las Vegas.
Ahead of the money-spinning showdown on August 26, UFC chief Dana White released footage of the Irishman’s spar with former world champion Paulie Malignaggi.
The footage gave Mayweather a rare insight into the boxing skills of McGregor, who will make his ring debut at the T-Mobile Arena. And the former five-weight world champion was left concerned by the Irishman’s tendency to try ‘a lot of grappling, a lot of wrestling, (and) a lot of illegal shots’.
Floyd Mayweather accused Conor McGregor of being ‘extremely dirty’ during his sparring
The former five-weight world champion takes on the UFC star in Las Vegas on August 26
Mayweather called on referee Robert Byrd to watch out for the Irishmans’ ‘illegal shots’
‘I had a chance to see it, I thought it was real interesting but (there was) a lot of rabbit punching, illegal rabbit punching behind the head,’ Mayweather said on Thursday.
‘A lot of the shots were illegal, a lot of grappling, a lot of wrestling, a lot of illegal shots. That’s just my honest opinion. But I’m pretty sure the referee is going to be fair on both sides. I want the referee to be fair and treat both competitors — myself and Conor McGregor — even and fair. I just want to have a good solid fight,’ he added.
‘I look forward to following the (Marquess of) Queensberry rules of boxing and I’m pretty sure (McGregor) looks forward to following the Queensberry rules of boxing. He had (boxing referee) Joe Cortez in his training camp which is a great thing.
‘(But) even though he had Joe Cortez in his training camp I’ve still seen him being extremely dirty. But my job is not to worry about the referee, my job is to go out there and fight and let the referee do his job.’
McGregor will make his professional boxing debut when he takes on Mayweather next week
Malignaggi sensationally quit the Irishman’s camp after pictures were released online which appeared to show he had been knocked down by McGregor. The Brooklyn fighter, who is retired from the sport, said he had been pushed to the canvas – a claim which prompted White to release the video.
Mayweather was dismissive of his opponent’s sessions with Malignaggi, claiming knockdowns on fight night are all that matter.
And the 40-year-old also hit out at McGregor for even putting a retired, out-of-shape Malignaggi through 12 gruelling rouds of sparring.
‘Some may call it a knockdown, some may not call it a knockdown. At the end of the day, it only counts when you get under the lights, that’s just the gym,’ Mayweather said.
‘We shouldn’t be here judging Paulie, a guy that has been retired, commentating and travelling the world, not going to the gym at all, just going in there with an athlete period who is working out every day. Honestly, it shouldn’t have even gone 12 rounds with a young guy that’s active.’