LAS VEGAS — Saturday’s blockbuster boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor will go ahead after both fighters made weight without hiccup on Friday afternoon.
McGregor tipped the scales first and came in at 153 pounds, one pound less than the super welterweight limit that was stipulated for the contest. Mayweather weighed in at 149.5 pounds, not a great surprise given that he has fought much of his career at welterweight (147 pounds).
During the week, Mayweather boasted that he was so comfortable with his weight that he was able to eat at fast food outlet Burger King. He also insisted that he could tell McGregor, who has fought at 145 pounds and 155 pounds in the UFC, was struggling to get down to the required limit.
However, McGregor looked strong and sharp as he made his way to the stage, accompanied by his agent Audie Attar and a few other members of his team, before being greeted by UFC President Dana White. The 29-year-old Irishman was draped in his nation’s flag on his way to the stage and when the pair squared off, repeatedly snarled in Mayweather’s face and launched into an inaudible tirade.
“That’s the worst shape I’ve ever seen him in,” McGregor said afterwards. “I am a professional. I make weight. I am in peak physical condition, everyone can tell I am ready. I will be a lot bigger (than this), and a lot bigger than him. I see a man afraid.”
Mayweather, flanked by his father Floyd Sr. and a huge posse of bodyguards, was roundly booed by most of the crowd. With ticket prices still refusing to dip below $1,000 on the secondary market, the free weigh-in experience was the closest many of those who traveled from Ireland to support McGregor will get to the action.
Mayweather shrugged off suggestions that coming in light would prove to be a disadvantage, even with McGregor likely to rehydrate and bulk up to 170 pounds before stepping into the ring.
“Weight doesn’t win fights,” Mayweather said. “Fighting wins fights.”
