Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor came face-to-face in Los Angeles for the first time yesterday as promotion for the eagerly anticipated bout got underway between the two.
McGregor, the UFC Lightweight champion will face Mayweather who has never been beaten in his professional boxing career in what will be a money-spinning fight at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas later on this summer.
Many people have slammed the idea of McGregor facing off against arguably the greatest defensive boxer, but with the MayMac world tour now underway excitement for this fight is expected to build and build, and in Los Angeles yesterday it was McGregor who looked to rile up his opponent.
McGregor predicts a Floyd KO in four rounds
In his UFC press conferences McGregor has been known for his loud and brash trash talking and in LA the Irishman certainly didn’t disappoint as he entertained the crowd with some bullish statements.
‘Mystic mac’ was at it again, but this time he was predicting how he would finish one of the best boxers the sport has seen. Invariably the 27-year-old hasn’t been wrong when it has come to his fight predictions. He promised to knockout former featherweight champion Jose Aldo inside one round. On the night he managed to do it in a staggering 13 seconds. He vowed to knockout Eddie Alvarez at the historic UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden and he delivered.
Even though McGregor has never had a professional boxing match, he said he would knockout the 40-year-old Mayweather in four rounds when they meet on August 26th.
McGregor also mocked Mayweather about his attire and the recent rumours that the American only took the fight because of financial trouble: "He's in a ... track suit," McGregor said.
"He can't even afford a suit anymore. The Rolls is a 2012 outside. He is f***ed, there's no other way about it,” continued the confident McGregor.
‘I’m still the A side’ declares Mayweather
Mayweather has been through this rigmarole many times before, but this event feels different – the hype and media gaze on this event will be like nothing else seen.
Recent reports have suggested that Mayweather’s extravagant lifestyle might be coming back to haunt him and some outlets reported that the only reason Mayweather took the fight was to recuperate some money; but Mayweather declared that he is still the ‘A-side’ and back that up by showing the audience a cheque worth $100m.
"He looks good for a seven or eight-figure fighter, but I'm a nine-figure fighter. This (guy) made $3 million his last fight, but we know that's training camp money for me," said Mayweather as he addressed the tax rumours.
Traditional stare-off sees a war of words between the pair
At the end of the press conference both fighters lined up for the traditional stare-off which saw the pair exchange plenty of words, as UFC President Dana White looked on.
Los Angeles was the first time the two had come face-to-face, and the first stop on the four-part World Tour didn’t disappoint as Mayweather and McGregor got the promotional side of the game underway in style.
Toronto, New York and London awaits, as the biggest fight in combat sports embarks on what promises to be a spectacular promotional tour.