Eddie Hearn and Conor McGregor had ‘friendly row’ after KO of Irish boxer Gary Cully

The pair sat at ringside in Dublin, where Katie Taylor lost to Chantelle Cameron in the main event

Eddie Hearn has revealed that he had a ‘friendly row’ with Conor McGregor on Saturday, after the pair watched Irish boxer Gary Cully suffer a knockout loss in Dublin.

Boxing promoter Hearn and UFC star McGregor sat together at ringside in the 3Arena, where Katie Taylor boxed Chantelle Cameron in the main event. Irishman McGregor has long supported compatriot Taylor, and he helped to sponsor Saturday’s fight card, which ended with Taylor losing to Cameron on points.

McGregor could be seen cheering on Irish boxers from ringside throughout the event, including Cully, who suffered a shock KO loss to Jose Felix Jr on the undercard. McGregor, 34, expressed a hint of disapproval over Hearn’s matchmaking, the promoter told iFL TV.

“I had a bit of a row, a friendly row with Conor McGregor,” Hearn admitted on Monday (22 May), “because he said: ‘Why did you put [Cully] in with him?’

“[But] you’ve got to beat kids like that. Tyrone McKenna beat [Felix Jr], Sandor Martin beat him. You are talking about Gary Cully being a world-class lightweight; you have to beat guys like that.

“He would have beaten him if he would have boxed smart, but it was a devastating defeat, and he’s going to learn a lot from that. He’s going to come back from that.”

In the following bout, Taylor was outpointed by Cameron, marking the first professional loss of the Irishwoman’s legendary career.

Meanwhile, McGregor has not competed since July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg during his second straight loss to Dustin Poirier. The former UFC champion is set to return to the Octagon this year to face Michael Chandler, though no date, location or weight class has been confirmed for that fight.

McGregor Forever, the second documentary on McGregor’s career, was released on Netflix this week. Read The Independent’s review of the four-part series here.

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