UFC, Boxing crossover: Conor McGregor has been challenged to a boxing match by a former knockout king

UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor was challenged to a fight by former welterweight champion and light-middleweight world champion Ricardo Mayorga. The former two division champion, who has 25 knockout wins in his professional career, and was attacked at a gas station in Nicaragua last month, must be feeling a lot better now considering he has challenged the best mixed martial artist in the world.

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Conor McGregor who was granted his boxing license in California in December has been having a war of words with retired and unbeaten boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr since his win at UFC 205. If rumors are to be believed the Irishman is looking for a mega-fight against Mayweather, but the American feels that he is just "blowing smoke."

With a fight against Mayweather highly unlikely and if McGregor is serious about trying his hand at boxing, he has an opponent ready. Mayorga, who has been out of the sport since 2015, after he got knocked out in his rematch against Shane Mosley, is confident that he can defeat McGregor.

"I admit that he's been very good at mixed martial arts, but in boxing he is making mistakes. As soon as I grab him, I'm going to break him down; I'm going to disintegrate him. If you are looking for me, you will find me. I have not fought, as they say, with [scrubs and journeymen], with a ghost record like [McGregor] has. But if he wants to fight and he's looking for me - he's going to find me."

"Let him tell me when he wants us to fight and where he wants to do it. In boxing, when we step in the ring - he's going to know that I'm a man and he's a woman. McGregor is wide open when he fights. I'm going to lower his jaw to his navel, so he learns to fear me and show respect," Express.co.uk quoted the former boxer as saying.

The 44-year-old boxer himself is a controversial figure in the boxing world with people describing him as "the craziest man in boxing". Over the course of his boxing career he has earned himself a bad boy reputation with his trash talking and his refusal to give up smoking and drinking while training.

Despite all those comments, made by the boxer, he knows he will face a tough time if he were to face the UFC star in his own preferred environment. Mayorga did try his hand in MMA back in 2013 where he lost 3 fights with one ending in a no contest.