This Saturday night, Conor McGregor will be stepping through the ring ropes to face Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match; a sentence that was unthinkable just a few months ago.
As fight night approaches, the focus on the contest intensifies — not just by the fighters, and their teams, but seemingly the entire world. Already touted as the biggest fight in history, McGregor and Mayweather has drawn attention from media and fans across the globe, turning Las Vegas into the centre of attention for sports.
For coach Owen Roddy, a man at the epicentre of it all, it’s all part of the fun.
“I can just feel the buzz now,” Roddy said, speaking with TheMacLife. “I can just feel it in my stomach; the adrenaline is buzzing. I know we’re getting close to the biggest night ever and the biggest upset ever as well. Upset for people on the outside, but not for people in this camp.
“Each day that it gets closer, I get more excited. I’m like a little kid. You’ll see me everyday, as the [fight] gets closer I’ll be a little bit more antsy, a little bit more excited. I’m buzzing for it.”
While Roddy has been alongside McGregor for years at this point, for the past few weeks he’s taken on the most prominent role in the UFC champion’s training. As McGregor’s striking coach, Roddy’s the man holding the pads and finding the patterns to help topple one of the best boxers of all time.
According to him, it’s been an honour, particularly in seeing the growth of his student and teammate.
“Conor, you can see he’s improved so much because we’ve just focused on one aspect of mixed martial arts,” Roddy said. “So for me, just to watch him improve day by day, week by week, and see how much his speed has improved, how much his timing has improved, his cardio as well.
“This time watching him put himself into places that very few people on Earth put themselves into that place — where you feel like you can’t do anything else, but still you dog it out and you push through. He’s just far exceeded what I ever thought of him. I’m very proud, and very happy to be part of it. It’s unbelievable.”
Maybe it’s being at such close proximity that gives Team McGregor their confidence. None have been able to defeat Floyd Mayweather in all of his 49 professional boxing bouts, and indeed, few have even given him a run for his money.
In Roddy’s mind, he just can’t seen an alternative than a win.
“Look at anybody that comes forward on Conor,” Roddy said. “You know what happens. They all get hit, and they all fall over. You can’t be overly aggressive with Conor, but you can’t be defensive either because he’ll walk you down, he’ll figure you out and he’ll land his shots. I honestly think the job will be done no matter what. Inside six.
“Never doubt Conor.”
