War Of The Worlds: Mayweather-McGregor Pre-Fight Talk, Talk, Talks The F-ing Talk
By Barry Janoff
July 12, 2017: People who are following the situation won’t know until the evening of Aug. 26 whether or not the scheduled bout between undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and MMA/UFC specialist Conor McGregor in Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena lived up to the tonnage of pre-fight hype.
But if the opening two rounds of a four-city, three nation, two continent open-to-the-public press tour was a loquacious indication, there should be a lot of jabbing, smacking, eye-balling and face-to-face confrontations.
Mayweather Jr., McGregor and their respective entourages, under the auspices of Showtime, hit the Staples Center on Tuesday to kick off four-day press tour that also will whirlwind its way to Toronto, New York and London.
Ironically, the man who usually has a lot to say, UFC president Dana White, introduced McGregor with about 20 words:
"What’s up, Los Angeles! Ladies and gentlemen, the reigning, defending 155-lb. champion of the UFC, the Notorious Conor McGregor."
The Notorious Conor then went into victory speech about making his once far-fetched dream of fighting Mayweather Jr. a reality — "Baby We did it . . . 20,000 people (in Staples Center). It’s mind-blowing, I’m absolutely honored to be here" — before going into a diatribe against Mayweather Jr.
"He’s in a f-ning track suit," McGregor said, pointing at Mayweather Jr. Then, focusing on Maywether Jr.’s troubles with the IRS, which reports say he owes millions in past taxes, "He can’t even afford a suit anymore. He is f-ed . . . I don’t fear him.
"I’m going to knock him out inside of four rounds. Mark my words," said McGregor. "I’m a young confident man I worked extremely hard for this. I can do whatever the f- I want up here.”
Mayweather Jr.’s response. "He’s a six-figure fighter, I’m a nine-figure fighter. This bitch made $3 million in his last fight. That’s training camp money for me . . . I’m the IRS and I'm gonna tax your ass."
Then, getting a bit contrite, Mayweather Jr. said, "I want to thank the MGM Grand. I want to thank Showtime. I want to thank the MMA fans. I want to say thank-you to Conor McGregor and his team. I want to thank Dana White. It takes two warriors to bring an event like this together."
And then it was back to business. "I can give it to him right now but we’re going to save that for the pay day," said Mayweather as White stepped in to put some space between their face-to-face press ender. "I gonna save that for the money."
In Toronto on Wednesday, where some 30,000 fans made their way into Budweiser Stage, the voltage was ramped up even higher.
"(Mayweather) won't do shit," said McGregor. "He won't do f-ing nothing . . .
"(Mayweather's) head is too small. One shot is all it takes me. I'll bounce his head off the canvas. I'll dribble that shit. He never even fought a day in his life. He's boxing's biggest runner and it's biggest bitch."
Among the other repartee between the two BFFs:
• McGregor: "He's 40. Learn to dress your age. You have a school bag on stage. What are you doing with a school bag on stage? You can't even read."
• Mayweather: "They say I was too small, they say I run like a bitch. But G-damn it, 49-0. Yeah m-fer, I run it until the m-fing bank."
• McGregor: "Floyd, you do something with that (Irish) flag (that Mayweather grabbed from a fan in the audience and then draped around his shoulders) and you ain't getting this bag or this money back, and I'm going to f- you up on stage."
• Mayweather: "I'm not phased by this. This doesn't bother me. Like I said, at the end of the day, the fans can't fight for him. I've been through this too many times."
Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY will host Round 3 on Thursday, then it's off to London on Friday for Round 4.
PHOTOS: COURTESY SHOWTIME
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