Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather on Tuesday kicked off their four-city promotional tour with a press conference in Los Angeles that showcased the showmanship of both fighters.
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Conor McGregor brings super-fight to life with cutting trash talk about Floyd Mayweather's taxes, size, and boxing style
Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather stayed true to their knack for marketing and showmanship with an entertaining, explicit press conference on Tuesday.
Since the announcement, the build to the fight on August 26 has been fast and furious. Both Mayweather and McGregor set out on a four-city tour to promote the fight, trading verbal jabs and obscenities along the way.
Some have joked that the press conference should cost money to view while the fight should be free — a testament to both fighters' marketing genius and McGregor's chances of beating Mayweather in the ring.
That knack for showmanship and promotion was on display early on when McGregor took the microphone and immediately began trash-talking Mayweather.
"He's in a f---ing track suit! He can't even afford a suit anymore!" McGregor said, pointing to Mayweather's sweatsuit and citing a report that Mayweather can't pay his taxes until after the August 26 fight.
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From there, McGregor fired at Mayweather and his camp for their demands for the bout and for Mayweather's notoriously defensive boxing style.
"He is f---ed!" McGregor said. "There's no other way about it. His little legs, his little core, his little head. I'm gonna knock him out inside four rounds, mark my words."
The crowd seemed to be in favor of McGregor as he continued to attack Mayweather in an expletive fashion.
"He's fought people that have shied away from him," "I don't fear him. I don't fear this limited set of fighting. This is a limited set of rules that makes this half a fight, a quarter of a fight. This isn't a true fight. If this was a true fight, it wouldn't even take one round."
McGregor also ripped the "rules" and "restrictions" set by Mayweather's camp, such as the fighting weight and type of gloves the boxers must use. McGregor claimed that while Mayweather recognized he has another foe to fight, he wouldn't go outside of his realm to take him on — so McGregor will.
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Though Mayweather sat quietly during McGregor's speech, when he got the microphone, he, too, attacked his opponent's chances of beating him in expletive fashion while also boasting about his record and considerable wealth.
During the speech, Mayweather pulled out a check that was allegedly for $100 million: "Let me show you motherf---ers what a $100 million fighter looks like!"
Mayweather paced the stage in between barbs, and concluded that God doesn't make mistakes, and that the only thing perfect in the world is his 49-0 record.
Though McGregor's trash talk did seem to stir Mayweather, in turn, Mayweather's trash talk may have gotten under the skin of McGregor, who requested his own microphone and interjected during Mayweather's speech.
The entertainment value of the fight remains to be seen, but at the very least, both fighters delivered upon their reputation for putting on a show. Now, they have to do it four more times, including August 26.
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