Photo by Brant Wilson/RBRBoxing
Four days of a contentious international world tour came to a fitting close last Friday, July 14, 2017, when global superstars Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor faced off for the final time on their three-country excursion at London’s Wembley Arena.
After 98 hours, over 14,000 totaled miles traveled, four sold-out venues, and more than 50,000 raucous fans in attendance, the Mayweather vs. McGregor World Tour has concluded.
Let’s take a look at who won the battle of the press conferences.
Round 1: 10-9 Mayweather
The opening exchange in LA was the closest and most difficult to score. The format of the press conference was a bit of a surprise for McGregor, who is used to a question answer style presser. He seemed a little uncertain of himself compared to a typical UFC outing. Conor’s trash talk is much like his fighting style, and is better when he can counter and roll on the spot. Showtime even cut his microphone. He couldn’t respond to any of Floyd’s comments and his frustrations were obvious. Even with these disadvantages Conor made some noise, coming out in a Fuck You pinstripe suit and making a clear prediction, “He’s got little legs and little hands. I’m going to knock him out inside of four rounds. Mark my words.”
Mayweather countered with his own prediction saying, “I am guaranteeing you this. You are going out on your face or on your back. So which way do you want to go? Floyd didn’t do much to take the round, but McGregor couldn’t stop Floyd from doing what he wanted. Given the expectations and his overall control of the event, I’m scoring this 10-9 Mayweather.
Round 2: 10-8 McGregor
Toronto was the complete Conor McGregor show. Out of an estimated 18,000 people, easily 90% of them were supporters of Conor. Prepared for the format, McGregor delivered an epic monologue. He started out working the crowd into a “Fuck the Mayweathers” chant, followed up by personally embarrassing Showtime Executive Stephen Espinoza, and finished Mayweather off with one line, “what are you doing with a school bag on stage? You can’t even read.” Speaking second saved Mayweather from a complete beat down, but was hardly effective and met only with boos and “pay your taxes” chants from the crowd. Conor dominated the second stop, giving The Notorious a 10-8 round and headed to Brooklyn with all the momentum.
Round 3: 10-10 Draw
The event started over 2 hours late, after each man tried to outdo the other with late arrivals. The crowd had little buzz by the time the show started. There were sound complications in the arena, adding to the crowd’s frustrations. Floyd and Conor seemed to run out of steam after two straight days of verbally sparring. Neither brought any new material or managed to outperform the other. Brooklyn was easily forgettable for both fighters. Draw 10-10.
Round 4: 10-9 McGregor
The final meeting at took place in a boxing ring at Wembley Stadium in London and proved to be a good showing for both fighters. Floyd finally embraced his role as heel of this rivalry. The boos of the crowd no longer affected his performance. Floyd knew he would not be able to outpoint Conor with witty comebacks, but his verbal jabs were noticeably annoying the Irishman.
Conor took the trash talk more personally than Floyd. He paced around the ring confidently. He was clear and concise during his speech. He baited the entire Money Team, eventually making the first move physically, when he rubbed Floyd’s head from behind. Overall Floyd was just as effective as far as promoting the fight. However, Conor’s performance was more convincing. McGregor had a look in his eye that and a confidence in his step that gave him the victory in London and the mental edge going into training camp.
Slider photos by (in order): Esther Lin, Esther Lin, Marilyn Paulino, Esther Lin
