"He just ran out of gas" - When Sugar Ray Leonard praised Conor McGregor's effort during Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout

Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather (left), Sugar Ray Leonard (right) [Images courtesy of UFC On Fox on YouTube]

When Conor McGregor and Floyd 'Money' Mayweather fought back in 2017, many boxing experts believed the bout would be easily won by the professional boxer, but the Irishman surprised many on the night. While he did lose, McGregor landed a few decent shots in the bout, unlike some of Mayweather's previous opponents.

One of the experts and former boxers impressed with McGregor's performance was Sugar Ray Leonard. Leonard is regarded as one of the all-time greats in boxing and credited the UFC fighter for his efforts against Mayweather:

"McGregor surprised me, he impressed me with being able to utilize his own style to keep Mayweather off balance for a few rounds, four-five rounds. And it was amazing, but what happened all of a sudden, the seventh round or so he just ran out of gas."

Watch the full post-fight interview with Sugar Ray Leonard here:

Leonard went on to credit the UFC fighter's toughness and also found it impressive that McGregor managed to at least win a round against one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Since his bout against Mayweather, Conor McGregor hasn't boxed professionally again and has continued to struggle in the UFC. Most recently, the Irishman lost back-to-back bouts against Dustin Poirier.

@TheNotoriousMMA u are the man brother!! U fought the best of our time in his game and fought like a champ. We are all proud of you. DC @ufc

Is Conor McGregor going to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. again?

Rumors have been circulating about a potential rematch between the two icons of combat sports. A few months ago, Fight Hype had suggested that a bout between the two fighters was close, with a nine-figure payday being promised, according to the report.

More recently, it was mentioned by The Mirror that the only thing holding the potential bout back was the rules, with neither fighter agreeing to the terms. The bout still hasn't been announced today, but UFC president Dana White still isn't keen on the fight happening.

While speaking to GQ, White stated that he hopes the bout doesn't happen and that it's not something that is not "supposed" to happen:

"McGregor-Mayweather 2 is not supposed to happen. Should not happen. Hopefully won't happen."

Watch the full GQ interview here:

Given that the first fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather has become the second-highest selling pay-per-view event in combat sports history, it's likely that if both fighters want a big payday, the bout will happen.