The cross-over superfight between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather produced some highly entertaining yet WWE-esque press conferences over a week-long world tour.
Not only did the pair pick apart each other on stage, in front of thousands of fans and millions online, but The Notorious attacked anyone who got in his way.
Showtime head Steven Espinoza was in the firing line after it was rumoured Showtime had cut McGregor’s microphone during the first press conference.
“And while we’re at it, Showtime too, you little weasel, McGregor said, walking over to Espinoza, who was seated on stage near Mayweather.
Midway through Mayweather’s set in Brooklyn, Mayweather shouted, Yo, from Voltron,” prompting his bodyguards to instantly swarm around McGregor. McGregor’s team, including striking coach Owen Roddy, quickly rushed to McGregor’s defence, and for a moment, it appeared that a brawl would erupt on the stage at the Barclays Center.
“Juicehead fools,” McGregor said at the post-event press conference. “I don’t know, man. I didn’t even see them until they were on top of me. I was like, ‘what?’ and then everybody was pushing and shoving. But, handbags, we call that back where I come from. It means it’s nothing, it’s just handbags. It’s just a term we use.”
While microphones and cameras didn’t pick up the heated conversations, one of the security guards, Greg La Rosa, revealed the details of their conversation in an interview with Submission Radio.
“In Brooklyn, basically, Floyd said, ‘Point to the easy work!’ so we pointed at McGregor. And then he said the Tapout stuff,f and I think that was getting to Conor,” La Rosa explained.
“So that drew his attention to u, and he looked over at me and the other guy, Ray, and he said: ‘Look at these two juiceheads!’ So I guess at that point, he’d had enough of it and had to have a go at me.
“I thought it was great,t but he looked at me and said: ‘Look at these two juiceheads!’
“I can’t remember what Floyd said after that. But Floyd said something, and Conor walked away for a bit.
“Then he returned and said something to me like: ‘You’re on juice.’
“But I told him right there: ‘No, never. I’ll do a USADA test right no,w and I’ll bet you $100,000 that I’m not.” And he said: ‘Yeah, right.’
“I said: ‘I’ll take it right now. I’ll take the blood right after the show.’ Then he said something along the lines of: ‘This is a real body.’
“I said: ‘When you’re standing next to me, you should put on a shirt because you’re embarrassing yourself standing next to me.’
“I figured it would rile him up a bit, and I thought it was funny, but in no way, shape, or form am I sitting up there mad.”
By Sami ChamounSenior Writer at CSF | Editor in Chief | Boxing fanatic On July 20, 2017
On – 20 Jul, 2017 By Sami Chamoun