Paddy Barnes on McGregor V Mayweather: ‘If I got an undercard slot, I’d be 100 per cent made’

While many star boxers fall over each other to offer sanctimonious proclamations that the much-hyped meeting of Floyd Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor is a nail in the sport’s coffin, three-time Olympian Paddy Barnes takes a different view.

Heading into his third paid bout in his native city this weekend, the Belfast man recognises the reality that pro boxing is a much a business as a sport.

When asked which circus he would prefer to be involved in - the August 26 ‘May-Mac’ Las Vegas bill or the latest another on-going row in Irish amateur boxing circles – the two-time Olympic medallist did not need much time to think about his answer.