Peter McDonagh ready to go Shannon Briggs on Conor McGregor

Peter McDonagh [27(3)-28(2)-1] is going become for Conor McGregor what Shannon Briggs was to Wladimir Klitschko in recent years.

The three-weight Irish champion has taken exception to the talk of a possible bout between the two-weight UFC champion and five-weight boxing champ Floyd Mayweather. So much so, the Galway welter has called for ‘The Notorious’ to prove he is the best in Ireland before targeting big boxing fights.

‘The Cinderella Man’ went as far as to call out the global sports superstar last week and told IFL TV that he is deadly serious about getting in the ring with the former Crumlin amateur.

Indeed, he claims he is going to go all out to get the fight, and even suggested that he will get an open top bus through Dublin to call out the RTÉ Sports Person of the Year.

“This isn’t the last of it. I am going to be following Conor McGregor. He will be up in Manchester on January 28th, I’ll be up there, ‘lets go champ’ and the rest of it. People laughed at Shannon Briggs, but he got a world title fight off the back of it.”

“I am turning up in Dublin in a couple of weeks in an open top bus, I hope it’s not raining. I’ll land outside his house. I am not messing around.”

There are those who suggest McDonagh is just searching for a big pay day, but the Connemara Kid claims that he would fight for a ‘winner takes’ all purse.

“They are all calling him out because it’s an easy 25 million – I’ll take him for 25 quid. People say I am doing it for the pay day, of course I am not. Lets put the money in the middle and winner takes all. If he wants to be serious about it he can have the lion share.”

While a clash seems unlikely ,there is some logic behind the MTK fighters calls for the fight. Indeed, to McDonagh the idea of McGregor v Mayweather seems more strange than a ‘Cinderella Man’ v ‘The Notorious’ clash.

“He is a superstar in MMA, UFC whatever it is, but in boxing he has to start at the bottom. I am far from the bottom, but it would be a good fight with me for the Irish title. If I said I was going to fight Mayweather people would laugh about it so for a man just to come from UFC to boxing and then turn around and say he wants to fight Mayweather is a joke,” he added.

“I am three-weight Irish champion. I am the best in Ireland, there is no two ways about it. I have proven it. I have proven it at lightweight, I have proven it at light middleweight, and I have proven it at welterweight. Maybe the next step for me, if it ain’t McGregor, is the European title – but if McGregor wants to fight, that is one person I would defend my Irish title against. I have no interest in anyone else [domestically] but I have interest in Conor McGregor.”