Conor McGregor ‘Serious’ About Pursuing Boxing World Title, Says Manager

Conor McGregor is a very ambitious athlete. The Irishman knocked out, at the time, the greatest featherweight of all time in just 13 seconds in Jose Aldo back in 2015 to win the 145-pound title. He’d go on to become the first-ever two-division champion in UFC history when he defeated Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight championship.

McGregor also crossed over into the world of boxing to share the ring with the greatest of all time, Floyd Mayweather, albeit losing via TKO in the 10th round. However, McGregor’s aspirations for the world of boxing remain. Earlier this month, McGregor noted that he is eying a world championship in the boxing world down the line.

“For me, an aspiration of mine also is to win a boxing world title,” McGregor said. “I think that would be a phenomenal feather in the cap and something I’d love to achieve in the future and something I will achieve.

“… Who knows? Maybe I will kickstart Zuffa Boxing if we can get there.”

McGregor has mentioned rumblings of a possible fight with Manny Pacquiao, and even promoter Bob Arum wants to do business with the Irishman. Speaking to MMA Fighting, McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, admitted his client is “serious” about his goals in the boxing world.

“He’s serious about boxing,” Attar said. “He said it. That’s something that I can tell you, if he says something he has interest in, it’s likely going to happen.”

There’s no doubt that the Irishman is the biggest star in combat sports right now. Floyd Mayweather is teasing a rematch with McGregor, Pacquiao seems open to fighting the former UFC champ, and Bob Arum is willing to put Terence Crawford in the Octagon with McGregor for a two-fight deal that will also see the pair box. Attar says the McGregor camp monitors everything, and will weigh their options accordingly.

“We definitely monitor everything,” Attar said. “We monitor not only fan engagement and interest from the public, but then you look at who’s out there talking what. Because it could be where we have a few different options to weigh and decide on.

“At the end of the day, I saw Floyd, I saw Manny and now Bob Arum, who at one point said, ‘It’s not a smart idea to crossover.’ He’s a believer now as well.”

For now, McGregor seems to be focused on MMA. He has stated he wants to be active in 2020, fighting at least three times.

“Yes it’s going to be busy, but we welcome that,” Attar said. “We’re super excited for it. I think we’re all on the same page when it comes to ambition and goals, and so that’s really fun to see when your entire team is in sync.

“I think we all welcome that type of work load. We don’t look at it as pressure. We look at it as opportunity.”

Do you think McGregor could ever win a world title in boxing?