Mayweather refuses to take McGregor’s bait
With their Aug. 26 boxing match looming, UFC champion Conor McGregor played on his charismatic nature to taunt unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. at their first face-off Tuesday,
At Staples Center, McGregor chatted up Mayweather with a constant confident grin, and urged the unmoved Mayweather to step forward.
He didn’t.
Mayweather knows McGregor is a 7/1 underdog in Nevada sports books, so he let McGregor start the selling of a fight that could generate 4 million pay-per-view buys.
Conor McGregor is in the building
UFC President Dana White talks live about Mayweather-McGregor
Times reporters discuss the Mayweather-McGregor hype
Mauro Ranallo knows the motivation behind Mayweather-McGregor
Tons of media on hand for Mayweather-McGregor
Fans lining up to get into Mayweather-McGregor news conference
Bob Arum not impressed by Mayweather-McGregor
Floyd Mayweather provides a peek at his preparation for the Conor McGregor fight
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has returned to the boxing gym after nearly two years away and says his preparation for an Aug. 26 fight against Conor McGregor is going smoothly even four months after his 40th birthday.
“You can’t touch me,” Mayweather said late Wednesday night following a training session in front of a large crowd at Ten Goose Boxing Gym in Van Nuys, where he had encouraged followers of his social media accounts to come watch him.
“I haven’t been off two years, really. I’ve been running, working. I’m not rusty; I’m ready.”
Mayweather declined to say much else, pointing instead to his assistant trainer and close friend Nate Jones to answer questions about his preparation — and enthusiasm — for the novelty bout against UFC lightweight champion McGregor that could potentially produce 3 million pay-per-view buys.
Ten big questions as the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor pre-fight tour starts
Los Angeles will stage the official launch of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor pre-fight tour Tuesday, with the unbeaten boxing champion and record-setting UFC belt-wearer set to face off for the first time on a stage at Staples Center.
The series of four news conferences leading up to the Aug. 26 boxing match at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas has so much buzz that it’s being held in arenas and promoters are limiting tickets to four per person.
McGregor’s verbal skills arguably surpass his striking abilities in the UFC octagon, which are significant as evidenced by his repeated knockdowns of Eddie Alvarez and Nate Diaz in his last two fights, and his record 13-second knockout to stop featherweight champion Jose Aldo’s 10-year-unbeaten run in late 2015.
The 40-year-old Mayweather (49-0) has been on a 10-year roll as a showman, igniting the 2007 bout against Oscar De La Hoya that rocketed his popularity, allowing him to cast all other opponents since as financially unworthy to his “Money Mayweather” character.
UFC President Dana White predicted Saturday night that the Mayweather-McGregor four-city tour, which will follow with stops in Toronto, New York and London, will be a “… show,” as the fighters match wits in both scripted and improvised forms.