The controversy surrounding the Mayweather-McGregor superfight continues to manifest, with the Irishman responding to claims from Floyd that some of his ‘monkey’ comments could be construed as racist. This is the latest in a series of developments that have left fans flabbergasted over the last few days and weeks, with the ‘biggest fight in combat sports’ starting to get on some people’s nerves.
In an interview with ESPN, Conor appeared to be genuinely upset about the accusations and responded as you’d expect someone in his position would.
“He knows there’s no racism from me,” said McGregor through gritted teeth. “His father knows, [Leonard] Ellerbe knows … ask these people. He said I labelled him a monkey. I have never once labelled him or any other African-American a monkey and it f–king annoys me that he’s bringing this type of stuff up.”
In the wake of the overly dramatic world tour these two have continued to trade verbal blows, as the excitement for their August 26th showdown continues. With less than two weeks to go the expectations continue to grow, with McGregor’s convincing words regarding his chances in the fight leading many to believe that he could actually pull off the upset.
“Like I said, if I was to label him as any animal then it would be a rat or a weasel,” said McGregor through gritted teeth. “That’s a rat and a weasel move, trying to manipulate someone’s words and try and create something that’s not even there and it’s such a sensitive subject. He’s a man who beats his wife in front of his kids. He is the dirt of the dirt. So to even bring that up and engage in that, that shows me your true colors.”
This appears to be the first time Mayweather has been able to get under the skin of McGregor, which is a shame given the circumstances that have accompanied it. The two men both conducted open workouts last week, but in the coming days we’ll likely start to see the hype continue to grow even further as we get closer to the big night in Las Vegas.
With numerous bookmakers starting to slowly cut Conor’s odds, the belief that the two-weight UFC champion can come away with the victory is starting to grow amongst casual fans.
Soon, however, the time for talk will be well and truly over as Floyd puts his perfect 49-0 record on the line.
