Long before Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor was announced, the two superstars were already involved in an inter-sport feud, as captured in the following story.
The following article was published on this day six years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
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[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 9, 2016, 9:00 AM]
Headline: Conor McGregor Calls Out Floyd Mayweather Over Racism Comments
Author: Eric Lynch
Conor McGregor has officially called out undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather, saying the two "can organize a fight no problem."
McGregor recently wrote a message on his Facebook page mostly addressing the media and apologizing for a photo of him with a rifle, but the note also took aim at Mayweather. McGregor responded to an interview Mayweather did in December, where the boxer said he feels the media favors McGregor over him due to racism.
"I don't really know the McGregor guy, never seen him fight," Mayweather told FightHype.com. "They say he 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."
McGregor, who is fresh off a 13-second knockout victory over Jose Aldo at UFC 194, fired back at "TBE" on Friday. He told Mayweather not to bring race into his success and made it clear he's willing to fight over it. McGregor also took the opportunity to say he feels Mayweather only deserves 20% of the revenue from their potential fight, as McGregor's last pay-per-view event may have had twice as many sales as Mayweather's last fight against Andre Berto in September.
Here's what the UFC featherweight champion had to say on Facebook about Mayweather:
"Floyd Mayweather, don't ever bring race into my success again. I am an Irishman. My people have been oppressed our entire existence. And still very much are. I understand the feeling of prejudice. It is a feeling that is deep in my blood. In my family's long history of warfare there was a time where just having the name 'McGregor' was punishable by death.
"Do not ever put me in a bracket like this again. If you want we can organise a fight no problem. I will give you a fair 80/20 split purse in my favour seen as your last fight bombed at every area of revenue.
"At 27 years of age I now hold the key to this game. The game answers to me now."
Related: Video: Floyd Mayweather Takes Shots At Randy Couture & MMA
Back in August, McGregor felt confident that both he and Ronda Rousey could defeat Mayweather in a hypothetical scenario.
“In a real fight I would dismantle him in seconds,” McGregor told The Guardian. “Ronda Rousey would dismantle him in seconds – 100%. When you don’t know how to grapple you don’t stand a chance. For us, it’s like playing with a baby. People who don’t understand the sport cannot understand how vulnerable they are. There are always clinches and Ronda is a judo Olympian. She would throw Floyd on his head in a second. Me? I would knock him out. Cold.”
Related: Ronda Rousey Also Says She Could Beat Floyd Mayweather In A No-Rules Fight
Conor McGregor will reportedly be challenging UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC 197 on 3/5 in Las Vegas.