Floyd Mayweather vs. Connor McGregor Press Tour Recap

By now you know that there have been four press events that spanned from Los Angeles, California to London, England to promote the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Connor McGregor.

The Money Fight, The 180 Million Dollar Dance– no matter how you refer to it, the sports world will soon witness something it’s never seen before. In just six short weeks, on August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, that something will be a professional boxing match between two very different kinds of fighters.

In one corner, we’ll have ‘retired’ 15-time world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. And in the other corner, we’ll have whirling dervish and UFC Lightweight champion Conor McGregor. It should be, if nothing else, quite the spectacle.

Let’s go over the highlights from each press event, then we’ll breakdown what you need to know for the actual match:

LOS ANGELES:

McGregor tells Floyd “dance boy” and mocked Floyd having to pay a huge tax bill and called him a Kardashian

TORONTO:

Connor was a bit more prepared for the second stop. After having his mic turned off in LA, he was ready with the insults and intrigued. He questioned why Floyd was carrying a backpack because he couldn’t read. Floyd also told McConnor if he was so confident, bet his anticipated purse on the outcome…

Highlight:

When Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather reached into a backpack and held out a $100 million check for the crowd of 11,000 fight fans to see.

“Let me show you what a $100 million fighter looks like,” he said.

Conor McGregor interrupted from his stool behind the podium: “That’s to the tax man.”

Mayweather replied: “You’re right. I’m the IRS, and I’m going to tax your ass.”

And there was this clip of Connor referring to black men in a scene from Rocky 3 as “dancing monkeys”

BROOKLYN:

Connor lost his mind here. After saying Floyd was $40 and still dressed liked a kid, Connor came out shirtless with a white fur in the summer – I guess NYC has that effect on people. He also claimed to be half black below the waist for all his black female fans ::: side eye Connor:::

He also had some words for Floyd’s former BFF, 50 Cent

LONDON:

The final stop. Connor was back in his suit but the insults didn’t stop. There was this awkward moment where he rubbed Floyd’s head. Floyd threw out his own slurs calling Connor UFC boss Dana White’s HO and a gay slur (fa**ot)

The Background, or The Tell of a Strange Tape

Here’s what we think we might know about how this thing came about. McGregor has long maintained an interest in returning to competitive boxing. Mayweather started dropping hints about a Money Fight between him and McGregor on radio shows and social media over a year ago. At some point, UFC president got involved, essentially saying that because McGregor was under contract with his organization, the fight wasn’t going to happen.

Of course, McGregor was talking trash the whole time. He obviously wanted in and did not mind telling the world how badly. Eventually, Dana White stepped out of the way and the stage was set. Mayweather ran his mouth some more. Ditto McGregor. Then, on May 18, the contract was signed and the madness was on. Beyond making the fight a reality, the contract changed nothing. Mayweather continues to talk trash, so does McGregor, and boxing fans all over the world are confused.

Good stuff.

What to Expect During the Fight

The short version is: God only knows what to expect from this thing. If we’re talking a simple prediction, the smart money goes with Mayweather winning in a middle round TKO or a unanimous decision. It is a boxing match after all, not an MMA fight. Mayweather is 49-0 and, in the opinion of many in the know, one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all time. So it stands to reason that Mayweather will win the fight.

But McGregor scuttles expectations just by being involved. The guy is a ball of fire and brings a ridiculous amount of confidence into the bout. He’s lightning quick, ferocious, and a great fighter on any metric. But he’s out of his element, right? Anything could happen, but in boxing parlance (unfortunately for McGregor, the only parlance that applies), let’s just say that McGregor has a kicker’s chance to win and little else. But last time we checked, kicking didn’t fly in boxing.

But who cares? Who cares who wins this silly thing? It’s plainly little more than an exhibitionist cash cow and that’s just fine. It could reinvigorate the boxing world and it’ll be a hell of a lot of fun in any case.

photo via Showtime