Floyd Mayweather Uses Homophobic Slur Toward Conor McGregor in Press Conference

During the final day of the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor worldwide press tour, Mayweather used a homophobic slur directed at McGregor.  
ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported what Mayweather said during Friday’s press conference (WARNING: CONTAINS OFFENSI…

During the final day of the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor worldwide press tour, Mayweather used a homophobic slur directed at McGregor.  

ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported what Mayweather said during Friday’s press conference (WARNING: CONTAINS OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE):

This week’s press tour has seen both fighters generate their share of controversy for comments directed at each other. 

During an interview segment with Guillermo Rodriguez on Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, McGregor was asked who would win in a fight between himself or Rocky Balboa in Rocky III:

“Rocky III?” McGregor said, via MMA Junkie’s A.J. Perez. “I’m trying to remember which one was Rocky III. Was that the one in the celebrity gym? I can’t remember if that’s the one with the dancing monkeys or not.”

This came after McGregor told Mayweather to “Dance for me, boy” on two separate occasions, sparking accusations of racism.

Mayweather told TMZ Sports “I don’t worry about that” when asked about whether or not he thinks McGregor is racist. 

Mayweather and McGregor are scheduled to fight in a boxing match on Aug. 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

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Conor McGregor Tells Floyd Mayweather to ‘Dance for Me, Boy’ for 2nd Time

During the second leg of a four-day worldwide press tour Wednesday, Conor McGregor doubled down on one of his controversial comments directed at Floyd Mayweather Jr.        
TMZ Sports passed along video of McGregor telling Mayweath…

During the second leg of a four-day worldwide press tour Wednesday, Conor McGregor doubled down on one of his controversial comments directed at Floyd Mayweather Jr.        

TMZ Sports passed along video of McGregor telling Mayweather to “dance for me, boy” as the crowd in Toronto did the “ole” chant (warning contains NSFW language):

McGregor received criticism for making the same comment during Tuesday’s press conference in Los Angeles, with Yahoo Sports’ Ryan McKinnell offering this take:

Floyd Mayweather Sr. told TMZ Sports he didn’t see anything wrong with McGregor’s initial comment: “Racist? I don’t know what that got to do with race. This is a boxing match. I don’t know what that got to do with no racists.”

This isn’t the first time McGregor has been accused of making insensitive comments to build up a fight. In February 2016, he caught heat for remarks made at a press conference leading up to his first match with Nate Diaz. 

Mayweather and McGregor will continue their press conference tour with stops in New York on Thursday and London on Friday. 

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Ariel Helwani Banned from 1st Leg of Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather World Tour

As Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor prepare to start the hype for their Aug. 26 showdown on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will not be part of the proceedings. 
Helwani tweeted out UFC requested he be…

As Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor prepare to start the hype for their Aug. 26 showdown on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will not be part of the proceedings. 

Helwani tweeted out UFC requested he be removed from the pool of journalists to receive credentials for Tuesday’s press conference:

The relationship between Helwani and UFC President Dana White has been well-documented, with White trying to limit Helwani’s ability to cover mixed martial arts for MMAFighting. 

At UFC 199 on June 4, 2016, Helwani tweeted he was escorted out of the Forum arena in Inglewood, California, prior to the main event between Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold. 

Per TMZ Sports, White banned Helwani from covering UFC events due to being angry Helwani reported Brock Lesnar’s return to mixed martial arts at UFC 200 and the contract for McGregor and Nate Diaz’s second fight was done. 

Two days later, UFC lifted Helwani’s lifetime ban and allowed him to once again cover the sport. 

Helwani is one of the most prominent journalists in mixed martial arts. He has covered the sport since 2006 and will often have post-fight interviews with many of the biggest stars after an event has concluded. 

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Ariel Helwani Banned from 1st Leg of Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather World Tour

As Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor prepare to start the hype for their Aug. 26 showdown on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will not be part of the proceedings. 
Helwani tweeted out UFC requested he be…

As Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor prepare to start the hype for their Aug. 26 showdown on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will not be part of the proceedings. 

Helwani tweeted out UFC requested he be removed from the pool of journalists to receive credentials for Tuesday’s press conference:

The relationship between Helwani and UFC President Dana White has been well-documented, with White trying to limit Helwani’s ability to cover mixed martial arts for MMAFighting. 

At UFC 199 on June 4, 2016, Helwani tweeted he was escorted out of the Forum arena in Inglewood, California, prior to the main event between Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold. 

Per TMZ Sports, White banned Helwani from covering UFC events due to being angry Helwani reported Brock Lesnar’s return to mixed martial arts at UFC 200 and the contract for McGregor and Nate Diaz’s second fight was done. 

Two days later, UFC lifted Helwani’s lifetime ban and allowed him to once again cover the sport. 

Helwani is one of the most prominent journalists in mixed martial arts. He has covered the sport since 2006 and will often have post-fight interviews with many of the biggest stars after an event has concluded. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Conor McGregor Receiving Majority of Sportsbook Bets to Beat Floyd Mayweather

Since Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. officially agreed to a boxing match on Aug. 26, bettors have been putting their money on the UFC lightweight champion.
Per ESPN.com’s David Purdum, odds for Mayweather have dropped from minus-1,100 to minus…

Since Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. officially agreed to a boxing match on Aug. 26, bettors have been putting their money on the UFC lightweight champion.

Per ESPN.com’s David Purdum, odds for Mayweather have dropped from minus-1,100 to minus-600 because “books were flooded by small bets on McGregor” since the bout was announced Wednesday. 

While McGregor is drawing more of the betting action by volume, Purdum did note the biggest bets were coming in for Mayweather.

“The bets on Mayweather, however few and far between, have typically been larger than the bets on McGregor,” he wrote. “The Westgate SuperBook took a $50,000 bet on Mayweather on May 30, two weeks before the fight was made official, and CG Technology took a $45,000 bet on Mayweather on Thursday.”

OddsShark lists McGregor as the underdog with 4-1 odds. This will mark his first-ever boxing match after spending his entire professional career, dating back to 2008, in mixed martial arts

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Floyd Mayweather Approved to Promote August Date for Rumored Conor McGregor Bout

A potential Aug. 26 date for the long-rumored Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is back on the table. 
Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Anthony Marnell announced Wednesday that Mayweather Prom…

A potential Aug. 26 date for the long-rumored Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is back on the table. 

Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Anthony Marnell announced Wednesday that Mayweather Promotions received approval to promote a boxing event Aug. 26, per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto

Per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe called the Nevada Athletic Commission on Tuesday night “to get Aug. 26…back on agenda and date approved.”

This comes one day after Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said Mayweather’s camp verbally retracted the Aug. 26 date request prior to a commission meeting, per Pugmire.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported Tuesday that Mayweather Promotions planned to ask the commission for an Aug. 26 date to promote a boxing match that was expected to be the showdown between Mayweather and McGregor. 

Last month, UFC President Dana White announced McGregor signed his half of the contract for the proposed superfight and that negotiations with Mayweather could begin. 

Mayweather still hasn’t signed his side of the deal that would make the fight official. The 40-year-old undefeated multi-division champion hasn’t fought since beating Andre Berto in September 2015.

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