Author: Tom Sunderland

Floyd Mayweather Jr. believes upcoming opponent Conor McGregor is “losing a lot of fans” over accusations of racism on the boxing fight’s world press conference tour.

McGregor initially caused controversy after recently telling Mayweather to “dance for me, boy.” MMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco reported McGregor then responded to accusations of racism in Brooklyn, claiming he’s half-black and humping the air while saying he had “a little present for my beautiful black female fans.”

This reignited the racism row, however, and Mayweather has since responded by saying his Aug. 26 foe crossed a line:

“This is an event where two fighters are competing against one another, but saying a lot of racist things like today toward black women. I have two black daughters, a black mother, of course I’m a black man.”

“He’s crossing the line, but I can’t really focus on that right now. I’m here to do a job, and my job is to go out there and entertain. But he’s losing a lot of fans by doing that.”

McGregor walked out to the Brooklyn press conference to the music of Irish musician Sinead O’Connor followed by late Brooklyn-born rapper Notorious BIG, later addressing allegations of racism, via Sports Illustrated:

Mayweather previously spoke to TMZ regarding McGregor’s choice of words in referring to him as “boy,” and the 40-year-old said he wasn’t offended:

When asked on Jimmy Kimmel Live! if he would beat Sylvester Stallone’s character from Rocky III in a fight, McGregor replied, per MailOnline’s Daniel Matthews: “Rocky III, that’s the one where he had that celebrity gym isn’t it? With the dancing monkeys in the gym and all?”

As Matthews noted: “(Mcgregor’s) comments led some people to suggest the MMA star was referring to a scene in the film when Rocky Balboa walks into a gym full of black fighters.”

MMA expert Luke Thomas recently expressed his view McGregor had no racist intentions referring to Mayweather as “boy,” although the back-and-forth is at risk of becoming ugly:

A little more than a month remains until arguably the biggest combat sports event of the century so far gets underway Aug. 26.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has said former President of the United States Barack Obama could attend his August 26 fight against Conor McGregor.

In an interview with TMZ on the press tour ahead of their bout next month, Mayweather spoke highly of the audience he’s expecting the matchup to attract, which included more than one presidential alumni:

He said: “Barack Obama may be there. Donald Trump may be there. I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be a star-studded event.”

UFC President Dana White recently indicated incumbent U.S. President Trump could be on the guest list for the megafight and was “100 per cent interested” but added he may not attend as he “feels like he ruins events”:

The level of security required for the boxing bout is already likely to be rigorous, but any amount of red tape would be increased substantially if a president—either current or former—was part of proceedings.

Mayweather attended Trump’s inauguration in January, per Hayley Miller of Huffington Post, but it seems unlikely the leader of the free world will repay the favour in Las Vegas next month.

The fight between McGregor and Mayweather is likely to attract many celebrities.

It would almost require a president’s salary to afford entry, too, considering ringside tickets are selling for $10,000 (£7,700) at the T-Mobile Arena, per MMA Junkie.

Obama and his family have been granted more freedom in his personal life since leaving the Oval Office, and the 44th President of the United States could feature among what will inevitably be a who’s who of the world’s biggest names, according to Mayweather.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has responded to a report he is waiting to receive his payment from his upcoming mega fight against UFC superstar Conor McGregor to pay off a 2015 tax liability. 

ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported on Monday that Mayweather had requested a reprieve from the  Internal Revenue System (IRS) until after the McGregor fight, but he took to Instagram on Tuesday to clarify things:

Per Rovell, Mayweather made $220 million from his win over Manny Pacquiao alone in 2015.

Rovell also detailed precisely what Mayweather has been charged to pay: “Mayweather’s 2015 taxes are currently 15 months past due, which would equal a 7.5 percent charge on top of what is owed.”

The must-watch matchup of the decade looks likely to earn both fighters an astronomical pay cheque, too, particularly after Fox Sports UFC confirmed the pay-per-view price would match that of Mayweather-Pacquiao:

Rovell also cited a press release from legal website Law360 that included a petition from Mayweather’s representatives requesting he be granted a reprieve from the alleged outstanding tax until after his August 26 bout:

“Although the taxpayer has substantial assets, those assets are restricted and primarily illiquid. The taxpayer has a significant liquidity event scheduled in about 60 days from which he intends to pay the balance of the 2015 tax liability due and outstanding.”

It hasn’t been specified how much Mayweather is said to owe the IRS in unpaid taxes, but while personal matters might muddy the waters, his focus will surely be entirely on what’s to come in the ring.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com