Conor McGregor could compete for boxing title with one win, says WBC president

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman believes Conor McGregor could be fighting for a major boxing title after just one professional win.

McGregor, who formerly held the UFC lightweight and featherweight titles, has boxed once previously, coming up short in a blockbuster showdown with Floyd Mayweather in 2017. Despite losing that fight, McGregor performed better than most pundits anticipated, and has been linked to many high-profile boxing matches since, most notably a rematch with Mayweather and a fight with Manny Pacquiao.

While McGregor is currently focused on his mixed martial arts career, he’s made no secret of his desire to box again in the future, and Sulaiman believes the Irishman could enjoy a rapid rise to title contention.

In fact, he thinks a single win is all it would take.

“I would say, he needs to face and defeat a ranked fighter, then he would be eligible to be ranked and to compete for a title,” Sulaiman told Sun Sport (via MMA Mania). “We have plenty of examples of Muay Thai fighters, who turn professional in international boxing, and they are eligible to fight for the title.

“We also have amateur superstars like Vasiliy Lomachenko, they come into professional boxing and fight for the title and it’s proven it works,” he added. “This is not a rookie entering the sport; he has a long history of combat sports, so it’s a different scenario of what it used to be in the past.”

Conor McGregor is currently gearing up for a fight with No. 2-ranked UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, which will headline the UFC 257 card on January 23. The bout will be a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight, which McGregor won by first-round knockout.

Do you think we could see the Irish MMA star return to the boxing ring after his fight with Poirier at UFC 257?