Kellie Maloney, who, until gender reassignment surgery back in 2015, was known in the boxing world as Frank Maloney, had harsh words to say about the August 26 fight between 'Notorious' Conor McGregor and Floyd 'Money' Mayweather.

The former Lennox Lewis promoter said: "This is more of a pantomime than a fight. It’s purely for money making purposes but Floyd Mayweather doesn’t need any more money and neither do the casinos in Las Vegas."

Maloney, who now runs a pub in Kent, has little hope the fight will even be competitive.

“McGregor is a very good fighter in his own sport, but he’s only had a few amateur fights and stepping into a boxing ring is a completely different discipline to what he’s used to and he’s going up against one of the best fighters of all time."

McGregor, who had an amateur boxing career fighting from Crumlin, Dublin, has had no professional boxing experinece and rose to global fame as the gregarious, two-weight UFC champion.

But, Maloney doesn't give him a chance against the undefeated Mayweather, saying: "The only way he could win is if Mayweather trips walking to the ring.

"It will be a boring fight. The guy's going to be hitting thin air."

She went on to say she would not be watching the fight, saying: "It's an absolute insult to the noble art of boxing.

"The governing body who have sanctioned this should be ashamed of themselves.

“This is more of a pantomime than a fight. It’s purely for money making purposes but Floyd Mayweather doesn’t need any more money and neither do the casinos in Las Vegas.

“In my opinion, this fight is everything that’s wrong about sport."

Peckham born Maloney takes a dim view of events in the run-up to the fight, claiming: "They are both very arrogant and their press conferences have been a disgrace it’s just not what sport’s about.

"Young people will be tuning into this and will think it’s great. It will draw attention because it is
entertainment."

According to analysts at ESPN, the fight, which is less than a week away, will net $606.1 million in total, with the bulk of that coming from Pay-Per-View.