Conor McGregor’s agent: Making Mayweather fight was ‘a vision that initially nobody else but us saw’
Conor McGregor dared first to suggest the idea of a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. While some chuckled, the Irishman’s agent, Audie Attar, knew the UFC champion was dead serious.
So Attar went to work, researching the personalities who needed to be dealt with on the Mayweather side, including the then-retired, unbeaten boxer and his powerful manager, Al Haymon.
On top of that, with four fights remaining on McGregor’s UFC contract, the creative, unprecedented mission to get the organization’s top draw outside the octagon and inside the boxing ring against the former No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer required the blessing of UFC President Dana White, who had stubbornly never co-promoted a fight.
“It was a challenge, a vision that initially nobody else but us saw,” Attar told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday night after the deal for McGregor and Mayweather to fight Aug. 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was signed and announced. “We made history together.”
Not only that, McGregor’s pursuit struck gold.
“Yes, we got everything we wanted,” Attar said. “We’re ecstatic, elated, motivated and very happy with how everything turned out.”
McGregor’s talk — and his knockdowns of former featherweight champion Jose Aldo, of boxing-schooled for Nate Diaz in their rematch in August and of lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in November — engaged Mayweather.
Fans were abuzz on social media over the possibility. Sports talk shows bought in. White couldn’t go anywhere without being asked about it, and McGregor’s electric appearance at countryman Michael Conlan’s pro debut on St. Patrick’s Day in Madison Square Garden seemed to clinch the bout’s inevitability.
“I don’t think we had one moment where we really knew this was going to happen. It wasn’t like an ‘aha moment,’ ” Attar said. “To use a sports analogy, it was like when you’re having a great workout, you give each other that pound of fists and keep going. At every step of this process, it became more realistic. It was, pound, support.
“It’s no different now. Just because the fight’s signed, we’ve still got to fight. He’s focused on the task at hand.”
McGregor’s famed self-confidence propelled the deal and, in the face of 25-1 odds and his pro boxing debut against the 49-0 Mayweather. He has remained active in the gym for months while awaiting the birth of his first child in May.
“I believe the fans are in for a treat, and I’m very excited to see my guy go in there and upset the naysayers,” Attar said. “Conor keeps his strategy to himself, but I know he’s going to do what he’s always done. I’m confident the strategy will prove all the doubters wrong.
“He’s proven it thus far in his mixed martial arts career that he rises to the occasion. Some people fold under pressure, with all eyes on them, with all the media pressure and the normal life things that take place. One thing I’ve seen from him is his focus, how he loves to challenge himself. And if it’s not a challenge, he’s not enjoying it. Once he locks in on something, he’s totally driven.”
Attar said McGregor’s respite since November for the birth of his son has refreshed the fighter, who staged four UFC bouts in a 12-month period before that.
How Mayweather will box at 40, after nearly two years off, remains to be seen. McGregor will seek to pave his way to an upset by going after the veteran verbally at their news conferences, assuming there will be more than one.
“It’d be a shame if they only do one because it takes two to tango,” Attar said. “If we’re trying to break records in every sense, it’d be in everyone’s best interest to see that. It’d be equally entertaining. They’ve both been brilliant in the pre-fight buildup. It’s very genuine, and at the same time, it’s very entertaining. This is no different. I’d imagine Floyd will do more than one.
“This is a very historical moment, and now we’ve just got to get to Aug. 26 and hope to continue to shock the world.”
Twitter: @latimespugmire
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