After a chaotic Grand Arrivals ceremony Tuesday night, the final press conference was a much more restrained affair, held at MGM Grand’s luxurious KÀ Theatre.
McGregor made Mayweather wait backstage for over 40-minutes before he arrived with his entourage, but it was the American who perhaps landed the more telling blows at the news conference. He warned McGregor that he is entering his territory having swapped the Octagon for the boxing ring, before adding that he “must be able to take it as well as give it”.
“One thing he must know about the sport of boxing and about combat sport, is that if you give it, you must be able to take it,” Mayweather said, to cheers from members of his family sitting alongside members of the world’s media.
“I’ve faced 47 opponents. They all said I have brittle hands or that I’m a scared guy, or that I can’t take particular types of shots, but listen. Last time I checked nobody has walked me down.
“It’s called smarts, it’s called having the IQ and having patience. From day one everything my dad taught me, I know today. Every combination that was taught to me, I still know.
“Everything in boxing that can be done, I’ve done it, a thousand times. I was born a fighter and I’ll die a fighter.”
