Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. hurls anti-gay slur at Conor McGregor ahead of fight
By Will Stroude
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has used an anti-gay slur to describe fellow boxer Conor McGregor ahead of the pair’s highly-anticipated Las Vegas fight next month. Mayweather, 40, was promoting the upcoming bout at London’s Wembley Arena on Friday (July 15) when he branded his Irish opponent a “faggot”. Footage captured the moment the undefeated eleven-time five-division professional boxing champion of the world told an audience of thousands: “We’re going to talk about this pussy.” Addressing 29-year-old McGregor directly, Mayweather Jr. then added: “You punk, you faggot, you ho.” McGregor, the UFC lightweight title-holder, has himself been accused of racism during the promotional tour for next month’s fight after repeatedly referring to Mayweather as “boy”. Mayweather’s team claimed after Friday’s incident that the boxing star had used the homophobic term after McGregor used more racist language off-mic. “The reason Floyd called Conor the F-word is because Conor called Floyd a monkey,” a representative told TMZ Sports. 
“Floyd has nothing against gays or lesbians. Floyd has them on his staff and loves all of them. “Floyd has nothing but the utmost respect for gays and lesbians.” Erm, we might have to disagree with you there. McGregor appeared unfazed by the slur when asked about Mayweather’s remarks later, saying such language should be “expected” in the boxing world. 
“People are so touchy on words. It’s absolutely crazy. If he said that, I couldn’t give a shit,” he said. The mixed martial artist continued: “Everyone with a sane mind that is watching knows what way it is. It is what it is. There were some dirty tactics out there, but that’s what to expect. “The fight game is a ruthless business.” More stories: Andrew Garfield responds to gay comments controversy Table for Two | ‘We talked about the thing you never should on a date – ex-boyfriends