Right now it’s not about the fight. It’s about the hype. And Conor McGregor took round one from Floyd Mayweather with flying colours. Irascible humour was stamped all over the opening salvo here in southern California as boxing’s biggest global freak show, worth an estimated $500 million plus, found its teeth.
Suited in pink tie and rosette, a pin stripe suit that read in tiny white lettering ‘f— you’, McGregor used every part of the repertoire that has potentially turned this working-class hero from Dublin into a nine-figure-earning fighter.
Indeed, all the verbal skills and humour which have made him a touchstone for a new generation of fight fans, that have turned the Irishman into such a global phenomenon, were on display here. During a lightning rise up the UFC ranks, winning the world title in two divisions, McGregor has talked himself up, and then lived up to his promises. As UFC president Dana White pointed out to The Telegraph: “Not since Muhammad Ali have we seen a fighter with such self-belief.”
And that is why Mayweather came hunting. This promotion had the greatest number of dollar signs possible embossed all over it. For those uneasy that this will be a flat mismatch when the first bell tolls, McGregor pledged he will give everything he has in the pursuit of the unthinkable which 49 men have failed to do in 21 years: knock Mayweather out.
McGregor even named his round, and picked the great Mayweather apart. All done with a twinkle in his eye, and with intent in his frame.
On a late Tuesday afternoon and into the evening at Staples Center, an estimated 10,800 spectators watched Mayweather Junior and McGregor trade barbs and insults ahead of their August 26 mismatch. Because on paper, that is what it is. But the thought lingers that McGregor is capable of the unthinkable… and it is for that reason that this promotion works.
Given the unbridled support for McGregor, the fans needed little convincing that the Irishman is bringing something special. This fight barely needs selling as the two teams and a phalanx of PR people and agents, the UFC, SHOWTIME sports – who will televise the spectacle – and the leading figures from both boxing and MMA, communed for this one-off event, which bordered on a WWE spectacular in Los Angeles.
From here to Toronto on Wednesday, New York on Thursday and London on Friday. By then Mayweather will be sick of the sight and sound of the uber-confident mixed martial artist, having eschewed any wishes McGregor had to alight in Dublin. It would simply have been too much. Mayweather would have been gobbled up by McGregor’s invading hordes of supporters. It was a wise move to turn down the Irish sojourn.
McGregor leapt right into the head of Mayweather on Tuesday night, saying he would stop the unbeaten boxer “inside four rounds”, mocking his attire and the so-called tax issues the American may have, and insisting that Mayweather “has never really been in a fight”.
Yet Mayweather is set to earn a nine-figure pay day – possibly between $150 and $250 million dollars for this contest – which could take his earnings close to the billion dollar mark.
The fans are already sold on it, judging by the scenes here in Los Angeles. The bad guy, and the uncontrollable crazy underdog, are the roles set for them. The crowd roared with approval when McGregor entered the arena, walked on the stage and every time his image was shown on the giant screens. It marked a stark difference to the catcalls for Mayweather, the natural villain of the piece. Yet in the ring, Mayweather will hold all the aces. But in PR terms, McGregor truly is peerless.
