Conor McGregor Has Been Soundly Praised by a Former Irish Olympic Boxer Philip Sutcliffe Jr… The Crumlin Boxing Club Coach is Full of Admiration for the Irishman’s ‘Class’…
Is there an MMA fighter who divides opinion more than Conor McGregor? The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion is almost at the end of his six-month suspension for his role in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl in Las Vegas.
He has been keeping busy though and took part in the Good Friday Charity Fight Night at Crumlin Boxing Club in Dublin. Before anybody says anything about him being a professional fighting amateur, this was the place where he first entered combat sports, training there as a teenager.
After his opponent on the night slated McGregor for hitting him with a ‘cheap shot,’ one of the main coaches at the prestigious boxing club has now entered the conversation. Philip Sutcliffe Jr, a former Irish Olympian, has nothing but praise for his former charge.
🇮🇪👏 Conor McGregor returned to Crumlin Boxing Club tonight and took part in his first boxing match since the Floyd Mayweather fight – doing a few good-spirited rounds with one of the amateurs.
[🎥 Cian_C, @LoveIrishBoxing] pic.twitter.com/UT9NOdu0Mr
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 19, 2019
Respect
As divisive as he can be, McGregor is well-known to love all things about home and has stayed very close to his friends and family despite his massive wealth. According to the two-time Olympian, McGregor was eager to participate and help the club out. He told MMA Fighting:
“He knows how famous [the Good Friday events] are, they’re famous all over the world. We’ve had people from all over the world box on our Good Friday shows, some of the biggest names in Irish boxing have boxed on these shows. Conor said he’d love to box on the Good Friday show.
“He boxed on the Good Friday show in 2004 and he said he’d like to go again. I said, ‘No problem, but we have to get a proper match for you,’ you know, someone that’s around his own weight and someone around his own class.”
Supreme Class
Despite some criticism going his way for showboating and for catching his opponent on the night with a quick strike without stepping back, Sutcliffe had only positive feedback. He said:
“He showed supreme class in sparring Micheal McGrane, who was an Irish champion. It was a great spar, the two of them went hell for leather at each other. Conor decked him with a body shot in the third round, which was fantastic.
“Micheal got back up and he went at Conor straight away. He’s a warrior, he went back at Conor and he caught him with some beautiful shots. Conor danced away from him, but it was a very good exhibition of boxing.”
Return
Now that he’s almost at the end of his suspension it remains to be seen how long McGregor will go without fighting. After multiple lawsuits, you can bet that he’ll be tempted back in sooner rather than later to make a quick buck. That’s despite the success of his whiskey company which is doing fantastically in America.
A rematch with Khabib Nurmagamedov is a possibility down the line, but it looks like he’ll have to fight and win at least once before that. The news broke earlier this week that Tony Ferguson has left Paradigm – the same team who manage McGregor. Could a clash with ‘El Cucuy’ be on the cards?
