CONOR McGREGOR claimed he had won every round of his promotional tour alongside Floyd Mayweather but the UFC superstar was once again forced to defend himself against allegations of racism.
The claims levelled against McGregor first arose during the opening two legs of the four-date journey through North America and Europe to generate publicity for their August 26 clash when he told Mayweather โdance for me, boyโ โ a phrase that has racial overtones.
And in trying to diffuse the situation in New York, the UFC lightweight champion only inflamed it by stating โIโm half-black from the bellybutton down,โ before appearing to refer to black people as โdancing monkeysโ when discussing the film Rocky III on a chat show.
Mayweather arrives on stage at Wembley Arena pic.twitter.com/40uDRqjHYV
โ Duncan Bech (@DuncanBech) July 14, 2017
Before the two faced each other for a verbal tussle in the ring in front of a 10,000 crowd at SSE Arena, Wembley, undefeated former five-weight world champion Mayweather rounded on his rival.
โRacism still exists. Itโs all about treating people like you want to be treated. To get respect you must give respect,โ said Mayweather, who subsequently called McGregor a โf****tโ on stage. โHe totally disrespected black women. He called black people monkeys. Then he spoke disrespectfully to my mother and he spoke disrespectfully to my daughter.
โThere are certain levels you donโt stoop to and certain levels you just donโt go to. I love everybody from all walks of life.โ
Irishman McGregor, who has predicted he will win inside four rounds despite never having previously boxed as a professional or amateur, rubbished the suggestion he is a racist.
McGregor’s on stage at Wembley Arenaโฆback in a suit for the final stop of the tour pic.twitter.com/yr2Wy57x0E
โ Duncan Bech (@DuncanBech) July 14, 2017
โYou can be fooled by him if you want to be fooled by him. You know the manโs character and his history. Heโs trying to sway people in his favour and itโs a cheap move,โ McGregor said.
โI was trying to address something in my own little way but whatever, if he feels itโs disrespectful then heโs an idiot and f*** him as well. Itโs a dirty play. I think it (the accusation that McGregor is a racist) is ridiculous. I donโt understand it. I know who I am as a person and I think that most realistic people will look at me and know who I am.โ
McGregor was by far the more popular when the two fighters arrived on stage in front of a packed Wembley crowd.
Cheered on by a swarm of supporters whose spirits were not dampened by a near-two-hour delay to proceedings, a suit-clad McGregor goaded the 40-year-old with taunts about his age, bald head, tiny hands and tax bill.
He remarked that four years ago he had fought in front of only 400 people at a small venue in London, adding โthis is my first time in a boxing ring and in six weeks Iโll rule boxingโ.
Mayweather was booed as soon as he took the microphone and endured a hostile reception from the pro-McGregor crowd throughout his performance, which featured heavily on the MMA fighterโs record of having tapped out three times in his career.
Happy to perform the role of pantomime villain, he repeatedly called him โquitterโ and tapped the desk behind which he sat, but was repeatedly told to โsit down, shut upโ by the crowd.
โThe tour became a verbal battle that people were scoring and I didnโt anticipate it being so back and forth,โ McGregor said. โIf we are going to score it then f*** it, letโs do that โ I smoked him on all four rounds.
McGregor on the promotional tour: ‘If we’re scoring it, then I smoked him four rounds to nil’ pic.twitter.com/zpSO1YwNeK
โ Duncan Bech (@DuncanBech) July 14, 2017
โLA was a 10-9, my suit went viral, Toronto was a wipeout 10-7 because he was dropped twice. I won New York and then here I smoked him again. For a 40-year-old man he has his childish ways and thatโs amusing. This is a ruthless business and I am ruthless.โ
While the money generated by the clash in Las Vegas is expected to eclipse the previous record held by Mayweatherโs victory over Manny Pacquiao, its credibility has been questioned. McGregor, who turned 29 on Friday, is a boxing novice and is facing a man regarded as the finest fighter of his generation.
โThey call that jealousy. It comes with the territory. This is big for both MMA and the boxing world. This is huge,โ Mayweather said. โEvery MMA guy is trying to fight a boxer. A fight like this can only happen once in a lifetime. This is a very, very big event.
โIt took more than just myself to make this fight happen, but to make a fight of this magnitude happen I had to be involved.โ