Mayweather-McGregor Media Tour Begins With Raucous Affair In L.A.

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor yesterday in L.A. began the media tour for their Aug. 26 fight in a "raucous appearance in front of more than 11,000 fans” (L.A. TIMES, 7/12). There were "scalpers hovering around the statues in the shadow of the Staples Center, lines around the block, police and security guards keeping order." Two hours before the event, scalpers outside were "charging $40 a pop, all for tickets that were distributed free on the internet and were snapped up quickly." Showtime Sports Exec VP & GM Stephen 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" (USA TODAY, 7/12).

The media tour's next stops will be in Toronto, N.Y. and London, the “closest city to McGregor’s hometown of Dublin" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/12).