What is being billed as the fight of the century is just on the horizon. Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather are set to face off on August 26th in one of the most hyped-up boxing events of all time. But McGregor, an MMA fighter, is already coming in as the underdog. And recently there have been reports that he’s been KO’d during boxing sparring practice.
Jessie Vargas, a former two-weight world champion, recently made the claim about the Irish MMA fighter. Vargas contended that the man who knocked out McGregor was Essex-based MMA fighter Bradley Wheeler.
Here’s what Vargas had to say about the alleged occurrence:
“I heard that they tried Bradley Wheeler, but he knocked him out.
He got knocked out in sparring already, man!
The boxing world is small; it’s a small circle.
I’m looking forward to Floyd coming out with a victory by knockout in six, seven rounds. I have no doubt. I actually want to put some money on it. It’s a 99% win.”
And take a look at the video below to see the whole Vargas interview.
Of course, there is no definitive proof of whether the rumors are true. However, it does give some cause for concern to those who are betting on McGregor. There’s no particular reason why Vargas would need to lie about McGregor’s sparring knockout – he has nothing to gain from that. But Vargas is ostensibly a Mayweather fan, so maybe he was just trying to intimidate the competition.
Not surprisingly, a number of other boxers are backing Mayweather. They are not exactly fans of the cocky MMA outsider coming in to fight the world’s number one boxer. In fact, many believe that McGregor’s only motivation for fighting Mayweather is the millions of dollars he is set to make on fight night (even if he loses).
Believe what you will. But all of the rumors, media-hype, and hours of practice both fighters have put in will finally culminate into what is likely to be the greatest spectacle in boxing in decades.
For more details about the event and to decide for whom you’re rooting, click here.
