Advertisement

Floyd Mayweather dons Irish flag to rile up Conor McGregor, UFC star exacts revenge

The Mayweather-McGregor news conferences are getting more interesting every day.

The men opened the show Tuesday with extreme fashion statements, stage-strutting and expletives. Conor McGregor sported a new, custom pin-striped suit with the phrase “F*** you” lining the sleeves and slacks while Floyd Mayweather donned a hat bearing the number 48, a tribute to his match against Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015. The outfits sent a message for sure, but the language was even stronger. And the profanity, insults and excitement continued into the second day on the press conferences.

Twenty-four hours after the tour started, the two men took the stage again in Toronto to exchange more fighting words, this time with the help of some props.

[Here are the five best moments from Wednesday’s Mayweather-McGregor news conference]

In one of the most contentious moments thus far, Mayweather walked toward McGregor and called him a quitter. After a brief verbal exchange, Mayweather signaled to a person in the crowd for an Irish flag, the symbol of McGregor’s home country.

Mayweather draped the flag over his shoulders, posing and posturing and baiting McGregor to do something about it.

Fuming, McGregor decided to retaliate. He picked up a backpack that Mayweather had brought up to the podium. McGregor gestured to the crowd and opened it, revealing its contents and mocking Mayweather.

Floyd Mayweather (L) poses with the Irish flag while Conor McGregor rifles through Mayweather's backpack. (Getty)
Floyd Mayweather (L) poses with the Irish flag while Conor McGregor rifles through Mayweather’s backpack. (Getty)

“That’s it? That’s it? There’s about five grand in here,” McGregor said, pulling out stacks of bills and holding them up in astonishment. He commented on the bag when Mayweather first brought it on stage, asking Mayweather, “What are you doing with a school bag on stage? You can’t even read.”

McGregor threatened to keep the bag if Mayweather didn’t take off the flag, which the boxing kingpin eventually did to end the stage standoff. Mayweather handed the Irish flag back to McGregor, who promptly tried to throw it back into the crowd while a member of Mayweather’s crew retrieved his backpack.

The whole scene riled up the crowd and set the stage for another action-packed news conference at Barclays Center in New York on Thursday. What will happen next? Who knows with these guys?