There’s no end in sight for this feud.
Way before race was brought into the conversation, there was no love lost between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, nor between Mayweather and Dana White.
But the rivalry took an unexpected turn earlier this month when Mayweather claimed that the double standards between how he and McGregor are perceived prove that racism is still alive.
Mayweather said: “He (McGregor) talks a lot of trash and people praise him for it, but when I did it, they say I’m cocky and arrogant. So biased! Like I said before, all I’m saying is this, I ain’t racist at all, but I’m telling you racism still exists.”
UFC president Dana White was asked to comment on Mayweather’s statement during an interview with the Huffington Post and he played down the level of truth in what ‘Money’ had to say.
“I think Floyd’s way off there,” White said. “I think that Floyd, because he’s Floyd, he feels more hate than love but I think what Floyd doesn’t realize is that I meet tons of people who hate Floyd and I meet tons of people who love Floyd. Floyd has fans and he has people who dislike him.
“McGregor has the same thing. Forget about race and all that other stuff. McGregor has a ton of fans and lots of people who don’t like him. It’s no different.”
To further his argument, White suggests that it is fighters’ personas that dictate how people view them rather than the colour of their skin, pointing to boxing legends like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.
“Muhammad Ali was fighting at a time when there was real, hardcore racism,” said White. “A guy couldn’t eat in certain restaurants after he won the gold medal and had to get in the back of the bus and things like that. He was (around) during real racism. Look at Ali now. He’s loved and adored by millions of people around the world regardless of race.
“Mike Tyson, the same thing. I would say that people are judged more on their personality than their race. Let’s face it, Floyd does things that will not make people like him.
“Me and Floyd go back and forth with each other all the time talking smack I guess,” White added. “Whatever you want to call it. Floyd is a little delusional sometimes. When Floyd was ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’ nobody really cared. When he became ‘Money Mayweather’ it created a lot of attention for himself. You’re going to have people who love you and people that hate you, whether you’re black or white.”
