Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor made a "raucous appearance in front of more than 11,000 fans" at Staples Center yesterday to promote their Aug. 26 fight in Las Vegas, according to Lance Pugmire of the L.A. TIMES. This was the first of four press conferences scheduled for this week to promote the event, and Showtime Sports Exec VP & GM Stephen Espinoza, whose net is handling the live PPV broadcast of the fight, said, "It was a little surprising to see Floyd act the way he did. He’s mellowed as he’s gotten older and you don’t see him engaging in the kind of trash talking he did when he was younger." Pugmire notes Mayweather "did give McGregor credit for one thing: his role as the fight’s co-salesman." Mayweather: "We’re going to sell a lot of tickets. He’s interesting. I’m interesting" (L.A. TIMES, 7/12). USA TODAY's Martin Rogers noted two hours prior to yesterday's event, scalpers were "charging $40 a pop, all for tickets that were distributed free on the internet." Espinoza: "It is unprecedented to think you could get that kind of turnout for an event that would normally take place in a room with a couple of hundred (media) people. We could have done the same thing in a half dozen more cities." Rogers writes it is incumbent on Mayweather "to at least make it seem like McGregor can compete on fight night." Otherwise, there "may be a reluctance to cough up $99.95 for the privilege of witnessing a one-sided rout." However, McGregor was the "crowd favorite" yesterday (USA TODAY, 7/12). In DC, Gene Wang writes the half-hour press conference was a "spectacle befitting the often over-the-top hype each fighter has generated in his respective discipline" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/12). In Las Vegas, Ray Brewer wrote he hopes the fight "turns out to be as interesting" as the lead-up (LASVEGASSUN.com, 7/11).
SHOW ME THE NUMBERS: USA TODAY's Rogers reported UFC President Dana White believes that the fight will "become the biggest selling pay-per-view boxing match of all time." The PPV market has been "uncertain in recent times, believed to be partly due to a malaise caused by the disappointment" of the '15 Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight. White "insisted that McGregor’s desperation to cause a monumental upset will ensure far more appeal this time around." White: "I don’t think anyone is going to be bummed out by the result of this fight. ... I hope it is a good fight. I want it to be a good fight. I want people to leave the arena and turn off the TV and they say it was a good fight" (USATODAY.com, 7/11).
THE TAXMAN COMETH: The IRS is "still waiting for its cut" from Mayweather from his "nine-figure payday" against Pacquiao. A notice of a federal tax lien by the IRS shows that Mayweather owes $22M in taxes from '15. It is "unclear whether the IRS has tried to withhold any of Mayweather's purse from the fight against McGregor" (ESPN.com, 7/11).
