Conor McGregor wastes no time going after those coveted golden straps.
It took Conor McGregor just 10 UFC fights to become a two-weight world champion, and he managed the same feat for Cage Warriors with half as many fights under the European promotion's banner. Albeit, that second Cage Warriors belt was draped over his shoulder in his 14th pro fight.
As impressive as that ascent was, a boxer by the name of Vasyl Lomachenko managed to claim two world titles in just his seventh bout in the pro ranks.
The Ukrainian defeated 24-0 Gary Russell Jr to win the vacant WBO featherweight belt. Four fights later he was knocking out 29-2-3 Roman Martinez for the WBO junior lightweight strap. This week, the pound-for-pound great reached out to McGregor on Twitter with a sparring offer.
https://twitter.com/VasylLomachenko/status/894991628510912512
There are plenty of reasons why Lomachenko is at the business end of the pound-for-pound boxing ranks with just a 9-1 record.
He was a monster at amateur level, where he amassed an insane 396-1 amateur record, avenging that controversial loss to Albert Selimov twice. His sole loss in the pro ranks came in his sophomore bout and was also highly contentious. Orlando Salido ruled himself out of a chance of winning the vacant WBO featherweight strap then scored a ton of low blows en route to edging a split decision.
Plus his movement, footwork, distance management, technique and everything else he has shown inside the ring has had combat sports nerds, not just boxing fans, salivating for quite some time.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_UK/status/894119604066320386
While it may seem like McGregor would be thrilled to get the opportunity to test his skills against someone on Lomachenko's level before taking on Floyd Mayweather, that's not the case at all. As he explained to media in Las Vegas, he's just not the right fighter to draft in for this camp. (Quotes via
MMA Weekly)
“What's the weight? 120? 130... southpaw... He’s not applicable to this camp. So that's it. I don't know what that was about."
McGregor believes the call-out was just a promotional stunt. He feels that a far better way to promote himself would be by signing a contract to fight super bantamweight great Guillermo Rigondeaux.
"He's supposedly one of the pound-for-pound guys right now? You need to start making these fights and putting yourself out there. Not tweeting something when you know you're never going to be brought in here at 130lbs and a southpaw when I'm facing an orthodox."
Hard to argue with that.
