Author: Joseph Zucker

Already embroiled in one controversy regarding a possibly insensitive comment he said to Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor referenced Rocky III as the one in the film series with “the dancing monkeys.”

McGregor made the reference during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live‘s Guillermo Rodriguez. According to USA Today‘s A.J. Perez, Rodriguez asked McGregor if he could beat Rocky Balboa from Rocky III.

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

McGregor and Mayweather are in the midst of a four-stop world tour to promote their Aug. 26 fight. During their event in Los Angeles on Tuesday, McGregor told Mayweather to “dance for me, boy,” per Yahoo Sports’ Ryan McKinnell.

Mayweather brushed the comment aside when asked about it by TMZ Sports.

“Racism still exists but you know, I try to take something negative and turn it into something positive,” he said. “A lot of people say that Conor McGregor is racist but I don’t worry about that.”

McGregor addressed the story during Thursday’s event in Brooklyn, New York, denying that he’s racist and saying he’s “half-black from the belly button down,” per MMAFighting.com.

Mayweather and McGregor will conclude their tour Friday in London at SSE Arena.

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Ahead of their Aug. 26 fight, Conor McGregor used Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s tax situation as an opportunity to get a dig in on his opponent.

“That’s gotta sting,” McGregor said in an interview with TMZ Sports. “… He shoulda paid his taxes and stayed retired and kept my name out of his mouth” (Warning: Video contains NSFW language):

On Monday, ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell shared a report from Law360’s Bryan Koenig that stated Mayweather asked the federal government to wait before collecting the taxes he owes from 2015.

Rovell noted that failing to pay taxes on time generally results in a 0.5 percent penalty for every month the taxes are overdue. Mayweather would then owe the government 7.5 percent in addition to his overdue taxes, which Koenig didn’t identify.

In the petition they filed on Mayweather’s behalf, his representatives wrote the boxer has a “significant liquidity event scheduled in about 60 days” that will help him pay his outstanding tax bill, per Koenig, which is almost certainly Mayweather’s bout with McGregor.

BoxingScene.com’s Keith Idec reported Mayweather could make as much as $100 million for his fight purse, which wouldn’t take into account his share of the fight’s gate and pay-per-view revenues.

The Los Angeles Times‘ Lance Pugmire reported the pay-per-view fee for Mayweather vs. McGregor will be $99.95 for the high-definition broadcast and $89.95 for the standard broadcast.

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A former sparring partner for Conor McGregor doesn’t have high hopes for the UFC star when he steps inside the ring with Floyd Mayweather.

Chris van Heerden, who sparred with McGregor in May 2016, told TMZ Sports he landed shots “at will” on McGregor during their session when Van Heerden was “out of camp, out of shape.” The former IBO welterweight champion added that even if McGregor can land a punch, Mayweather could easily withstand it.

 

After months of hype, McGregor and Mayweather confirmed on Instagram they’ll step inside the ring Aug. 26 in Las Vegas:

While considered a good striker, many question whether McGregor will be able to hold his own against Mayweather, who’s one of the best boxers in the sport’s history.

On Wednesday, Van Heerden also shared video of a sparring session with McGregor, who looked overmatched:

Assuming the video is from their May 2016 session, McGregor has had a lot of time to continue training and would presumably be more comfortable boxing at this point.

Still, combat sports fans have seen stuff like this before, whether it was CM Punk’s less-than-encouraging training video or the clip of Ronda Rousey’s questionable boxing technique.

McGregor can train like a madman for the next two months, but he’s facing somebody who will have decades more experience in boxing. Bridging that gap is might be impossible, especially without Mayweather showing significant decline in his most victories over Manny Pacquiao and Andre Berto in 2015.

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UFC star Conor McGregor trolled Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Instagram as their proposed Aug. 26 superfight inches closer.      

With the caption, “THE FIGHT IS ON,” McGregor posted a photo of himself alongside Floyd Mayweather Sr. on Wednesday:

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole reported Wednesday that McGregor and Mayweather have agreed to terms on a fight at either MGM Grand Garden or T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto followed up to report the announcement “is imminent.”

McGregor’s post was seemingly one-half of the equation, and Mayweather followed suit on Instagram:

According to Iole, the event will be strictly a boxing card. Even though he’s 12 years older, Mayweather will be at a decided advantage in his element.

Regardless of whether this bout becomes an instant classic, the pre-fight hype alone will be epic. These are two of the best trash-talkers in their respective sports, and they will likely go into overdrive in order to attract fans who may be on the fence.

ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell noted there are 73 days until Aug. 26, which leaves a lot of time for McGregor and Mayweather to exchange verbal jabs before opposing one another in the ring.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. is reportedly eyeing Aug. 26 for his prospective fight with UFC star Conor McGregor.

ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported Monday that Mayweather Promotions plans to make a formal request with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to finalize the August date.

According to Rafael, Mayweather Promotions originally wanted to go before the commission Wednesday but shelved the motion for the time being—likely because Mayweather hasn’t finalized a fight date with McGregor.

In a May 17 appearance on TNT during the network’s NBA playoffs coverage, UFC President Dana White said McGregor’s side had completed negotiations for the event, with Mayweather the remaining holdout:

An August fight would make sense, even though promoters would have only two-and-a-half months to hype the bout. Excitement for Mayweather vs. McGregor has arguably been building for more than a year, considering Mayweather first created a mock poster for the fight in May 2016.

All parties involved would also likely prefer to get ahead of the Gennady Golovkin-Saul Alvarez fight, which has been confirmed for Sept. 16. White said he envisioned the same date for Mayweather-McGregor.

Golovkin-Alvarez is easily the biggest matchup in boxing right now, and by scheduling their fight after that highly anticipated pay-per-view, Mayweather and McGregor would risk losing fans who intend to buy only one of the shows.

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