Conor McGregor’s comments during the Brooklyn press conference only intensified the racial insensitivity accusations from Floyd Mayweather.
Floyd Mayweather is having none of Conor McGregor’s attempt to dismiss the perception that he has mocked black people during the world tour promoting their fight.
McGregor has been facing backlash for certain comments he has made during the tour. He has been receiving a lot of heat for his ‘dance for me boy’ joke directed towards Mayweather in Los Angeles in particular.
‘The Notorious’ addressed the story in typically blunt fashion during Thursday’s event in Brooklyn.
“A lot of the media seem to be saying I’m against black people. That’s absolutely fucking ridiculous! Do they not know I’m half-black? Yeah! I’m half-black from the belly button down. And just to show that that’s squashed, here’s a little present for my beautiful, black female fans.”.
Not a happy camper https://t.co/M8EnqT1DAl
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 13, 2017
McGregor’s attempt to squash the story did not work. Speaking to media after the event, Mayweather claimed the ‘half-black’ routine disrespected black people (quotes via MMA Fighting).
“He totally disrespected my daughter, he disrespected the mother of my daughter, he disrespected black women and he called black people monkeys.”
“Conor McGregor, you can’t disrespect black women, you can’t disrespect black people period. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been through a lot.”
Mayweather’s accusation that McGregor referred to to black people as ‘monkeys’ comes from an interview the Dubliner did with Jimmy Kimmel Live’s Guillermo Rodriguez. When asked if he could beat Rocky Balboa from Rocky III in a boxing bout or not, he responded:
“Rocky III? “I’m trying to remember which one was Rocky III. Was that the one in the celebrity gym? I can’t remember if that’s the one with the dancing monkeys or not.”
Conor McGregor set for absolutely gigantic kit sponsorship deal https://t.co/VoXU8SbWZl
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 13, 2017
McGregor issued his response to Mayweather’s accusation after the event, reiterating that he’s not racist (quotes via MMA Fighting).
“If anything I wanted to squash that tonight and have a bit of fun, that was a playful thing. I included the daughter, it’s all fun on my part. If he is in that mindset, well that’s his business. I don’t care. I know who I am, people who are watching know. If he’s upset and angry then great.”
The Mayweather vs McGregor world tour finishes up in London on Friday.