Opponent says Conor McGregor threw cheap shot in exhibition boxing match

By Tom Taylor - April 25, 2019

Last week, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor once again laced up the boxing gloves. This time, however, he was not taking on a legend for millions of dollars under a Jumbotron in Las Vegas. Instead, he took part in an exhibition bout with amateur boxer Michael McGrane, which went down in his former haunts, the Crumlin Boxing Club in Dublin.

Conor McGregor

Speaking to TMZ, McGrane opened up on this exhibition bout with Conor McGregor and claimed the UFC star zapped him with a cheap shot — a left hand thrown seconds after the opening bell.

“We touch gloves at the start of the fight and you’re meant to go back to your corner, but Conor never went back to his corner,” McGrane told TMZ Sports (transcript via Bloody Elbow). “Conor leaped at me with a left hook, the clinical left hooks, and he caught me flush in the eye with his clinical left hook.

“Yeah, it was a cheap shot. It was the cheapest shot I’ve ever caught in my life. Conor McGregor hit me with a cheap shot in his hometown.”

Despite this mishap, McGrane is understandably proud of his bout with the former UFC champ Conor McGregor, which ended in a draw for the sake of ceremony.

“He was a bit shocked that we didn’t give up. I’m not like most people,” he said. “It takes a lot for me to give up, especially if you’re in there with a double-world champion, I’m not gonna give up that easy. Definitely not.”

Do you believe the opening salvo thrown by Conor McGregor in this bout was a cheap shot?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 4/25/2019. 


Topics:

Conor McGregor UFC