Floyd Mayweather was a champion fighter. Conor McGregor is a champion fighter. Mayweather was known to mock his opponents. McGregor is known to mock his opponents. And yet, the ex-boxer feels that there is a difference between how he was treated and how the Irish mixed martial arts champion is currently being treated, and he points to a specific cause: racism.
“They say [McGregor] talk a lot of trash and people praise him for it, but when I did it, they say I’m cocky and arrogant,” Mayweather told Fight Hype in a recent interview.
“So biased!” he continued. “Like I said before, all I’m saying is this, I ain’t racist at all, but I’m telling you racism still exists.”
The “they” to whom Mayweather is referring are correct — McGregor does talk a lot of trash. Actually, that may be an understatement; the UFC featherweight titleholder unleashes a torrent of insults to his opponents seemingly every time he opens his mouth, which is often.
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However, “cocky” is certainly a term frequently applied to McGregor. In fact, he said it about himself in 2014, noting, “I am cocky in prediction. I am confident in preparation, but I am always humble in victory or defeat.” (Funny how people rarely sound humble when calling themselves that.)
Mayweather is also correct that he was often described as “cocky and arrogant,” but those are adjectives he arguably went out of his way to earn. The fighter, who earned huge paydays in his sport even before last year’s mega-bout with Manny Pacquiao, made a point of flaunting his wealth, not to mention his superiority to other boxers.
Of course, McGregor has had his own share of ostentatious displays lately, such as posing with his Rolls Royce. In addition, he recently said that he wants to eventually top the record-setting gate from the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, so perhaps he’s made himself a target for the ex-boxer.
Which isn’t to say that Mayweather, who got onto the topic of McGregor after discussing the issue of racism in his own sport, doesn’t have any kind of point. Bias against blacks undoubtedly exists in boxing, as it does in so many walks of life, and it could easily play a role in the public perception of the supremely brash McGregor; although there could also be something to be said for his Irish charm.
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