“THEY GET EXCITED when the Lord Mayor comes to visit,” said sixth class teacher Mark Russell as John Kavanagh made his way towards the school hall with Conor McGregor’s UFC lightweight belt in tow. “I can only imagine what they’re going to be like for this.”
Currently in Cork for a signing of his autobiography and some seminars at the Leeside branch of his Straight Blast Gym, Kavanagh gave a couple of hours of his time to the boys at Blarney Street Primary School on the northside of Cork this morning.
Having been greeted by a rousing rendition of McGregor’s walkout song, The Foggy Dew, Kavanagh posed for pictures, signed autographs and discussed his journey to the top in mixed martial arts, which yielded more success last month when McGregor — who has trained under him for over 10 years — became the first UFC fighter to hold two titles at the same time.
A Q&A session threw up some probing questions for the SBG chief — “Will McGregor fight Floyd Mayweather? What would you be if you weren’t an MMA coach? Could you beat McGregor in a fight?” — but Kavanagh sent the kids back to class with all their queries answered, before sealing his status as “a legend, boy” by relieving them of their weekend homework.
