Striking coach to the 'The Notorious', Owen Roddy, has revealed that prospective dates for Conor McGregor’s super fight with Floyd Mayweather are being safely guarded, following the news that the Irishman has agreed terms with UFC for the highly anticipated marquee banner.
UFC president Dana White revealed that McGregor signed on the dotted line in the early hours of this morning, and since then, ‘The Notorious’ has confirmed that he is content with his "record-breaking" deal, in a statement he released through his website, TheMacLife.com.
"It is an honour to sign this record breaking deal alongside my partners Zuffa LLC, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Paradigm Sports Management," McGregor said.
"The first, and most important part of this historic contract has now officially been signed off on. Congratulations to all parties involved. We now await Al Haymon and his boxer’s signature in the coming days."
Roddy, who has been helping McGregor prepare for the pound-for-pound boxing great, revealed that now the Dubliner has signed on the dotted line, he is relishing the thoughts of fighting Mayweather.
"He’s very happy with the deal," said Roddy, speaking exclusively to Newstalk.com.
"I was just with Conor yesterday for some training and he’s just excited. He just wants to get it on. I’m sure he’s happy with whatever he has signed, but I really think he’s more excited about the fight in general. To be able to do something like this unbelievable.
"Conor wants to do things that have never been done before. This is just another moment in his career where he defies all the odds and gets the job done.
"Since his first fight, he’s always been aiming to achieve these incredible feats. This will be another one."
Although the fight is what is exciting McGregor now, Roddy insisted that becoming one of the best-paid athletes in the world is also a big achievement for his SBG teammate.
"Of course it means something to him to be one of the best-paid athletes in the world," he said.
"Conor loves money, there’s no doubt about it. He’s already been talking about the Forbes list and other things like that.
"He is all about success. He wants to generate more income than any other athlete on the planet.
"Last year I think he was talking about trying to close in on Ronaldo this year. I don’t know if he will beat him or not, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
"Conor wants to be the best at everything. I’m here at my daughter’s school for Sports Day. I’m sure if he was involved in the Daddy’s egg-and-spoon race he would want to win that as well."
White revealed that Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez versus Gennady Golovkin took the initial September 16th date that had been earmarked for the Mayweather/McGregor super fight.
According to Roddy, Mayweather and McGregor will definitely fight in 2017, but the dates are being closely guarded to ensure another situation like ‘Canelo’ versus ‘GGG’ does not happen again.
"There are some definite dates floating about, but I really can’t tell you what they are.
"We’ve been told certain dates, but it will definitely be this year. Fingers crossed, once the other side gets things done everybody will be happy and then it will be another big extravaganza for fans.
"I’m sure it will be another historic night for the Irish fans to witness.
He added: "The 'Canelo' versus 'GGG' date definitely threw a spanner in the works. Honestly, when I heard about it, I thought it was a good move on their part.
"At the end of the day, when Mayweather’s crew sign on the dotted line, nobody is going to care about 'Canelo' and 'GGG'. Don’t get me wrong it’s one of the best boxing matches that could’ve been made right now, but at the end of the day, McGregor versus Mayweather means so much more.
"It was a good move from them, but it could backfire as well. If Mayweather and Conor are to set a date anywhere near that, they could drown out everything."
Back in March, Mayweather prompted McGregor to make a deal with UFC so he could get the ball rolling on his own contract negotiations. Many believed that Mayweather wanted McGregor to ink the deal so he could demand more money than the Irishman, but Roddy insisted that ‘The Notorious’ won’t care what the 40-year-old agrees to because he is content with his own deal.
"Conor is happy with what he’s getting. If Conor is happy with what he’s getting, I don’t think he cares what Mayweather is getting. It makes no difference.
"Conor would not have signed if he wasn’t happy with his deal. I doubt he will be affected in any way by what Mayweather is getting for it.
"There’s plenty of money in the pot here so nobody is going to be too worried about what the other is getting."
The ball is now firmly in Team Mayweather’s court as White looks to strike a deal with the unbeaten boxer. Many believe that it could take some time to pen a deal with the outspoken champion, but Roddy is adamant that the more Mayweather waits, the more time it gives Team McGregor to prepare.
"We’re training now. The longer it takes Mayweather to sign, the better it is for us. We get more time to study him the longer he drags it out. We can get people in to help us if needs be. I see the negotiation period as just more time for Conor to immerse himself in boxing.
"The longer he takes to sign, the better it is for us. To be honest, we’re ready to go now."
Roddy also revealed that McGregor’s preparation for Mayweather began shortly after his historic win over Eddie Alvarez in New York last year.
"We’ve almost been preparing since Conor’s last UFC fight. As soon as the talk picked up we started getting ready for it. We all realised that there was too much money to be made on both sides for it not to happen.
"Both Conor and Mayweather made it clear that they wanted the fight, so it was bound to happen.
"As soon as that last UFC fight was done, we started to focus on straight boxing."
An Irish MMA legend himself, Roddy spoke about what it has been like to be in McGregor’s corner during his rise to superstardom over the last four years.
"Look, it’s absolutely insane," he said.
"To help Conor prepare for one of the best boxers ever, this is what dreams are made of.
"This journey has been so crazy. From small little GAA halls in Crumlin to the 3 Arena in Dublin, to Vegas, to Madison Square Garden and now, to boxing — I get up every morning and I have a little giggle to myself about everything that’s happened.
"I’ve been around the world helping a guy, who I think is the greatest combat sports athlete in the world, achieve his goals. It’s been incredible.
"[Ireland] don’t have a great football team. Our rugby team does alright, but we don’t get to rally behind something as a nation that often. Conor has brought the whole country on a journey over the last four years. The generation before us didn’t get to do this, and the generation after us won’t get to do it.
"We’re in the McGregor era now. We’ve been fortunate to be in his corner and watch his success. This is an amazing time."
The only question is, what can McGregor possibly do to top his bout with Mayweather?
Roddy said: "Maybe the presidency is after this, I don’t know. Maybe I could be his head of security or something. God only knows what’s next. The only person who knows that is Conor."
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