The Mayweather vs McGregor World Tour visited Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Thursday for its third hype-fueled spectacle to build the buzz for their August 26th showdown.
Since starting this week in Los Angeles and then Toronto, the two have slowly escalated their disparagement of one another with various expletives being hurled across the aisle. However, McGregor, in the words of the late Charlie Murphy, has proven to be a “habitual line stepper.”
Mayweather vs McGregor: Los Angeles Press Conference
Floyd Mayweather & Conor McGregor embark on a four-city international press tour to announce their Saturday, Aug. 26 blockbuster on SHOWTIME PPV. Watch the first press conference on Tuesday, July 11 at 5pm ET live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
At the first press conference in Los Angeles, McGregor was thrown off. He is used to the dais styled press conferences where UFC President Dana White holds court and calls on the fighters and the media to interact like a conductor. However, boxing is a formal podium style presentation with executives giving salutations and shout-outs in structured form.
McGregor, who either wasn’t briefed or has never seen a boxing press conference before, took his lack of preparation as a conspiracy against him.
It was a highlight of his exposed privilege, the fact that he confused a lack of research and preparation for Machiavellian sabotage is delusional at least and insanity at most.
After that press conference, McGregor had a quick interview with Jimmy Kimmel’s Guillermo in a segment that aired Wednesday night. In that piece, Guillermo asked Mayweather and McGregor the silly question of who would win a fight: them, or Rocky III?
The Irish fighter had to think for a moment as he recalled which movie it was. He then appeared to remember and said, “That was the one [with] the dancing monkeys in the gym.”
In Rocky III, Stallone’s character trained with Apollo Creed, and worked in Creed’s old gym. The film made a point to emphasize the cultural difference compared to where Rocky trained in the first two films in meat factories and his predominantly Italian South Philly neighborhood.
Mayweather vs McGregor: Toronto Press Conference
Floyd Mayweather & Conor McGregor embark on a four-city international press tour to announce their Saturday, Aug. 26 blockbuster on SHOWTIME PPV. Watch the second press conference on Wednesday, July 12 at 5:30pm ET live from the Budweiser Stage in Toronto, Canada.
When the circus came to Toronto, the Canadian hotbed for MMA, McGregor lashed out like the overexposed brat that he has become. But the straw that has broken the back of camaraderie has been McGregor’s racially insensitive rants that have taken away from the core competitive aggression and ventured into racial polarization.
“Dance for me boy!”
This jibe was McGregor’s go-to statement every time Mayweather danced or shadowboxed across the stage on random occasions. Although, McGregor is from Dublin, Ireland and not an American with an inherent understanding of American socioeconomic and racial politics that certain vernacular invoke, you are almost tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt through that prism.
Then when he referenced Mayweather’s Girl Collection Gentlemen’s Club in Las Vegas as “50 stripper b*&%$es on his payroll” it was a medium attack on the exotic dancers and Mayweather’s morality, however, it wasn’t a blanket statement on black women. That all changed yesterday in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center when McGregor addressed the racial allegations head on.
Mayweather vs. McGregor: New York Press Conference
Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor embark on a four-city international press tour to announce their Saturday, August 26 blockbuster on SHOWTIME PPV. Watch the final North American press conference stop on Thursday, July 13 at 8:00pm ET live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Link to onstage portion: https://youtu.be/tfYpbdgx0QQ?t=7506
“Let’s talk about the race,” McGregor said. “A lot of media seemed to be saying I’m against black people. Do they not know that I’m half black? From the belly button down.”
Inherently racist in itself, McGregor’s attempt to satirize what he viewed as a race-baiting attempt by the media only exposed his inner stereotypes. He upped the ante when he gave a “little present” to his “beautiful black female fans” by mimicking a sexual motion on the elevated runway. Now his stripper comments, constant obsession with the women on Mayweather’s staff and jabs towards Mayweather’s younger daughter Iyana “Ya Ya” Mayweather begin to make sense in his stereotype-filled viewpoint.
UFC 196 Pre-fight Press Conference
Watch live as the stars of the main and co-main event of UFC 196 meet for a pre-fight press conference on Thursday, March 3 at 4pm/1pm ETPT from the David Copperfield Theater at MGM Grand.
When McGregor fought Nate Diaz at UFC 196, we first saw his brand of press conference drama and stereotyping of opponents to further degrade them to the public.
I like Nicks little bro. How can you not like him? Hes like a little cholo gangster from the hood, McGregor said to the media after an almost scuffle at the UFC 196 press conference.
It is clear from McGregor’s recitation of The Notorious B.I.G.’s lyrics in Brooklyn and Drake’s hit single “Started From The Bottom” that he has an affinity for commercial rap culture. However, playing in culture and living it are two different things, and McGregor has to understand that there are certain invisible lines you cannot cross and come back safely from.
Floyd Mayweather New York Press Conference Media Scrum ‘Racism Still Exists’ Not Happy with McGregor
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Last night at the press conference’s post press conference (crazy but true), Mayweather firmly said that racism still exists. He took note to mention the disrespect he felt from McGregor towards his daughter, who has been on stage by his side during the interactions, and her mother, who McGregor is fascinated with in the audience. Mayweather lauded his multi-cultural staff and stated his appreciation for them standing with him during his incarceration on domestic abuse charges.
The now veteran fighter said he realized that when he was younger, he might have gone too far with his words at times, and with maturity comes wisdom. However, without fully condemning McGregor to be a racist, he alluded to the line being crossed.
Like Donald Trump, McGregor’s true gift is to be the aggrandized angry white man who gets to say how it is and begs for someone to challenge him. He mixes this with a cauldron of “Money Mayweather” and Ric Flair and ladles the broth over his image like a bathing ape. It is why he is beloved and not seen as the bad guy in these interactions. Like Trump, the need for white male rage is real and ever-present. And not only does McGregor represent the great white hope but he also represents the great white fight.
‘Make Boxing Great Again’ is what McGregor really means when he says proudly, “I am boxing.” He aims to be the conqueror of the cocky black success story and will mire in mud to get there. During a time when the impoverished, underrepresented white male population looked at Donald Trump, their complete opposite, as a kinsman, McGregor has done the same with a bootstrap narrative and folksy Irish lilt. However, McGregor is nothing more than a con man and politician serving his constituents with the rage they can only unleash safely behind Twitter keyboards.
The event aptly called “The Money Fight” has morphed into an all-out stereotyped blitzkrieg offensive, denigrating the art of the promotion and taking the show where no one should want to go. Today, the last stop of the tour happened in London and McGregor, for the first time, put his hands on Mayweather.
Mayweather vs McGregor: London Press Conference
Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor embark on a four-city international press tour to announce their Saturday, August 26 blockbuster on SHOWTIME PPV. Watch the final press conference stop on Friday, July 14 at 2:00pm ET live from the SSE Arena, Wembley in London, England.
He rubbed his head, stating he was so glad he finally took his hat off so he could do so. Mayweather, the multi-hyphenate businessman who has conquered the most treacherous sport in the world and survived in tact, was treated like a lawn jockey at a country club. Times have indeed changed, and like the farce of an election that happened for the American Presidency, not for the better.
