Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather: UFC legend branded a ‘clown’ by opponent’s father ahead of showdown
Mayweather's dad isn't one for holding back and feels UFC star is completely mismatched against his legendary offspring
THEY tried to keep Floyd Mayweather Snr out of the spotlight before his son fights Conor McGregor in a Sin City freak show.
As trainer and father of the richest boxer on the planet, he usually takes centre stage in the build-up to a fight — with boxing’s poet laureate often breaking into verse.
Not for this £700million mismatch, though, and now we know why — when you collar Mayweather Snr he is defiantly off-message.
In fact, he is the only man inside this unholy promotion willing tell it like the circus it is.
While UFC king McGregor trash talks bullishly and Mayweather Jnr talks up his opponent to help the 100-dollar pay-per-view sales reach their target of a record five million, his father can’t help but knock it all down.
Asked whether McGregor, a professional boxing rookie, is a threat to his son because he is such an unknown quantity, Mayweather Snr says: “All I’d say is he is a clown. And he is fighting a real fighter.
“But that’s why so many people want to see it, because it is a joke.”
Asked whether this should be the easiest pay day of the Money Man’s life, the 64-year-old nods his head, laughs loud and says: “I’m just going to tell you it should be.”
The so-called ‘Money Fight’ with its diamond-studded ‘Money Belt’ is going to attract a vast worldwide audience — but it is not so popular with boxing aficionados.
👊🏾Mayweather v McGregor: Betting Preview👊🏾
By Dave Kidd, The Sun's Chief Sports Writer
"MAYWEATHER is going to play around for six or seven rounds, give the vast audience their money's worth, then take McGregor out"
ADD TO BETSLIP:
And Mayweather Snr, who fought Sugar Ray Leonard and trained Oscar De La Hoya, is steeped in the folklore of the noble art.
Little wonder then that he is struggling to take seriously the strange spectacle being staged at the T-Mobile Arena here in Las Vegas tomorrow night.
“That confidence McGregor has got? It’s going nowhere,” he says.
“He is a dead man. I told McGregor I’d knock him out myself. I told him, ‘When my son’s whipped your ass, I will do it next’.”
Mayweather Snr is even willing to confess that his son is past his peak and suggests he will be rusty after two years out of the ring.
He says: “A lot of things are chugging away from him but it ain’t that bad that he can’t handle Conor. The rope is all the way round Conor’s neck right now.
“Conor should be glad he’s been out. When someone is rusty it always takes a little something out of them — though this is no problem.
“Conor’s got the extra weight — but weight carries, weighs you down.
“I don’t care what I do as a trainer. Floyd’s going to win and Conor knows it . . . ”
Mayweather Jnr insists he will put his money where his mouth is and make his largest ever better on himself to defeat McGregor in this super-welterweight contest. A resident of this global capital of gambling, Mayweather is renowned for betting weighty sums on sure-fire winners.
McGregor has cheekily suggested his rival might only be taking this fight due to gambling debts.
But Mayweather said: “You guys will see the betting ticket, don’t worry.
“I will bet something heavy. My biggest ever, most likely. There ain’t nobody who can beat me. I am the best boxer that ever lived.”
MOST READ IN SPORT
And statistically speaking, Mayweather will back up that claim by overhauling Rocky Marciano’s all-time unbeaten record and going 50-0.
And Mayweather Snr does not believe he will ever get the pads out to train his son again — insisting the 40-year-old will retire for good this time.
He says: “You don’t tell a grown man what to do. But he’s my son so I can suggest it.
“I don’t think he has to box no more as he has enough money to live the rest of his life the way he wants to live it.”
Is this fight any sort of risk then? A gamble against a dangerous brawler from the great unknown?
Mayweather Snr shakes his head and gives another great belly laugh.
Ever get the feeling that you’ve been had?