Conor McGregor hires hall-of-fame referee to better learn the rules of boxing ahead of Floyd Mayweather fight

73-year-old Joe Cortez has been called into McGregor's training camp to officiate his sparring sessions ahead of his professional boxing debut against Mayweather

Conor McGregor’s camp has hired hall-of-fame boxing referee Joe Cortez to help familiarise him with boxing’s rules, as he prepares to fight Floyd Mayweather on August 26.

McGregor has hired Cortez to help him transition from UFC to the unified rules of boxing and ensure the Irishman makes no mistakes in the ring.

Cortez, 73, has refereed many high-profile bouts including Mayweather’s controversial win against Victor Ortiz in 2011.

Cortez had his back turned to indicate the restart of the clock after deducting a point from Ortiz for a head-butt when Mayweather hit Ortiz’s his unprotected chin with a right-hook. Ortiz glared at the referee and Mayweather knocked him out with another hit to his chin.

Cortez claims he told both fighters to ‘box on’ although could be accused of a lack of authority as Ortiz had not heard the command.

Speaking to NBC Sports, Cortez outlined how he will help McGregor in the ring. “I’m just instructing him on the dos and don’ts, to make sure he follows the rules to a tee.

Cortez presided over Mayweather's controversial win over Ortiz, in 2011 (Getty)

“They were recruiting around for a referee to teach them the rules on refereeing – the unified rules – to make sure that there’s no mistakes being committed the night of the fight,” said Cortez who will be working with McGregor for five weeks.

“We’re going from A-Z,” said Cortez who has started lessons on boxing’s Queensberry rules with the UFC lightweight champion.

“I’m pretty impressed with his learning and he’s not a difficult guy to work with. He follows instructions very well, and I feel good. He’s learning so quick.”

Cortez believes that the fight will not be as one-sided as many believe and feels that Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor could walk away as victor.

“He’s a sharp individual who is very athletic, has a lot of speed, has a lot of power, and I could tell you that he’s gonna be somebody to reckon with,” the former referee said.