— Niall Kelly reports from Boston
THEY DON’T CALL Boston the City of Champions for no reason.
To the proud locals, this is Title Town — and the name stands up to scrutiny.
In a period of extraordinary dominance since the turn of the century, Boston’s “big four” have all won the national title in their respective sports, some more than once.
It had never been done before and, truth be told, it might never be repeated.
Marshalled by the inimitable Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots rose to the summit of American football and won three Super Bowls. On Sunday, they can take a step closer to their fourth when they face the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game.
Since ending their long wait for a World Series win in 2004, the Boston Red Sox have gone on to win two more while the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins have also got in on the act.
To say that winning is in Boston’s DNA is an understatement. On Sunday, in the same building where the Celtics’ 17 championship banners hang, in the same arena where the legendary Larry Bird once walked the boards, Conor McGregor will bid to show that he’s right at home.
Sunday’s card marks the UFC’s third event in Boston. For a company that prides itself on slick organisation, it’s a relationship that hasn’t always been the most smooth.
Legal red-tape threatened to scupper the last event held here in August 2013. State laws required every fighter to hold a valid social security number before they could be licensed. It posed countless headaches for UFC president Dana White who had to fly a number of athletes — McGregor included — into the country just to complete the necessary paperwork in the required time.
In the end, it all went off without a hitch. Well, almost.
It was the night when McGregor met a US audience for the first time. His debut performance, a 67-second KO of Marcus Brimage in Stockholm a few months earlier, had sent ripples of excitement through the organisation. As he emerged to face Max Holloway, a highly-respected prospect in his own right, The Notorious was given the “blackout”, an honour usually reserved for a defending champion’s walk to the Octagon.
It was unheard of for a fighter with just one UFC appearance to his name. Then again, in the two years since he has entered MMA’s biggest promotion, practically everything about McGregor’s rise has torn up the usual script.
The cruel twist that night came in the second round when McGregor, trying to pass Holloway’s guard, found his leg trapped in an awkward position. He went on to win a unanimous decision but the scans afterwards showed that he had ruptured his cruciate ligaments and would need serious reconstructive surgery.
Before the severity of the injury became fully clear, McGregor’s post-fight comments were full of bitter disappointment. He prides himself on a record full of lighting fast KOs; this, on his first US appearance, was a missed opportunity.
When he goes toe-to-toe with Dennis Siver on Sunday, he gets a chance to seize the opportunity that injury stole from him that night 17 months ago.
There are no titles on the line — not on this occasion — but in a town full of winners, a statement of serious intent will be the next best thing.
