Should Dennis Hogan prevail in his fourth attempt at a world title, a Conor McGregor-sized door is set to swing wide open.
Hogan (30-4, 7KO) takes on Sam Eggington (32-7, 18KO) for the IBO light middleweight title in what will be the headline act at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Saturday.
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It’s essentially the last chance saloon for the 37-year-old Irishman who calls Brisbane home, but a victory would put him on an immediate path to take on McGregor, one of the most recognisable names in combat sports.
“It would be a dream come true,” Steve Scanlan, Hogan’s manager, told foxsports.com.au.
“Conor would think he’s a chance in that fight. He’s a good fighter, he’s a good boxer.
“Dennis is under no illusion that he’s going to go in there and beat him easily. But to share the ring with someone like Conor McGregor, he’s really excited and we’ll do everything to make it happen.”
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A super fight between Hogan and McGregor isn’t exactly as far-fetched as one might think.
Hogan maintains a strong relationship with McGregor’s long-time coach John Kavanagh and funnily enough was supposed to trade blows with the UFC superstar, but it never eventuated.
“He (McGregor) was actually meant to come up for a spar, and his teammate at the time Cathal Pendred, who’s in the UFC, he came up for the spar,” Hogan said.
“And McGregor went, ‘you went without me’. He was meant to come up for a spar but never did.”
With Hogan’s close ties to the McGregor camp, it’s easy to see how the seed for this fight could be planted.
But it’s been a collective effort between Hogan, Scanlan and No Limit powerbrokers to conjure up what would be a fight that would see all involved earn a dizzying payday.
“How good would it be to go to Croke Park in front of 90,000 Irishmen and fill out the stadium, that would be unbelievable,” Scanlan said.
“Or if we could somehow get Conor McGregor to Suncorp Stadium.”
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Scanlan has previous experience in the domain of putting on fights that many thought were unthinkable.
After all, he was a member of Jeff Horn’s team during the negotiations to bring Manny Pacquiao to Australia for a bout between the two.
Horn went on to secure a famous victory that 51,052 packed into Suncorp Stadium to witness and became one of the most historic moments in Australian sporting history.
Even if McGregor doesn’t step foot inside Brisbane’s marquee rectangular stadium and the fight goes ahead, Scanlan believes the impact of such a fight would “snowball out of control”.
“It would be incredible,” Scanlan said.
“Even though it’s on the map already, I just think it will get more eyes on the sport and it’ll just take it to the next level. From there, it will snowball out of control.
“I think it will put Australian boxing back in the spotlight and take it to the next level.”
