When Conor McGregor fought Floyd Mayweather, he kept the faith with his MMA coaches in his corner.
McGregor wanted head coach John Kavanagh, striking coach Owen Roddy and training partner Artem Lobov by his side in his boxing debut against one of the greatest of all time but Mayweather was too good and claimed a stoppage win in the 10th round last August.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the latest UFC star to campaign for a boxing match against the 50-0 great and by the sounds of things, Mayweather is entertaining the idea.
But if the bout does come to fruition, the UFC lightweight champion is eager to add some boxing expertise to his corner.
“Khabib will have a chance in boxing,” Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap, told TASS.
“He will have a higher chance than McGregor. Khabib will go close up in the clinch.
“I would like the best specialist in the boxing world Anatoly Lomachenko and Mike Tyson to be in our corner.”
Tyson is a long-time UFC fan and a close friend of Dana White’s so perhaps he would be open to cornering Nurmagomedov against Mayweather.
‘Iron Mike’ hasn’t been the most complimentary towards Mayweather in the past and branded him “a scared, little man” after Mayweather proclaimed himself greater than Muhammad Ali.
The other cornerman targeted by Nurmagomedov’s camp, Anatoly Lomachenko, is perhaps best known for coaching his son, Vasyl, from a young age.
Vasyl Lomachenko is now regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet and Anatoly has played a large role in guiding his rise to the pinnacle of prize-fighting.
Odds have already been released on a potential Nurmagomedov vs. Mayweather fight and it will surprise nobody to learn that the latter is considered a 1/20 favourite.
Mayweather recently claimed that he was coming out of retirement yet again for a rematch against Manny Pacquiao but has since hinted at a desire to take a tune-up fight first.
Would Nurmagomedov be the perfect tune-up opponent? Only time will tell.
