Ahhh the internet… such a mean and nasty place. When something interesting comes about, people share and share away. Things can go viral very quickly, especially when the entire world is watching.
Yesterday, Conor McGregor, the UFC lightweight champion, held his media open workout in Las Vegas. McGregor is preparing for the biggest fight of his life, against boxing legend Floyd “Money” Mayweather on August 26th. And one of the biggest questions lingering around is how McGregor will be able to handle Mayweather, given that he has never boxed a round of his life professionally.
Up to this point, no one even knew what McGregor’s boxing looked like. We had a rough idea, what with various clips on the internet. And the way he uses his hands inside the Octagon. But no one knew in an exact manner, because we have never seen him box professionally. Until recently.
McGregor opened up the doors to give fans an inside look at his training camp. Suffice to say, some of his methods were… unorthodox. The internet, being the mean and nasty place that it is, exploded almost immediately. Fans came up with different memes and made hilarious videos ridiculing the UFC fighter. Some of them are pretty creative.
Conor McGregor talks Paulie Malignaggi
Despite people making fun of McGregor’s boxing, the fact remains true that he did give Paulie Malignaggi all he could handle. Malignaggi was of course one of the finest boxers during his time. Although he is happily retired now, he still gave McGregor some good work. McGregor had some choice words for Paulie though, talking to Ariel Helwani.
“He’s a guy that’s at the end of his career. I get the feeling he feels the boxing game has betrayed him now he’s retired — I don’t know what he was expecting coming in here after speaking what he was speaking,” McGregor said.
“Respect coming in and trying his best but he got his arse whooped and he got his ego dinted and off he went out the door,” McGregor said.
“In my mind it was concussion talk … you think a certain situation happened and it didn’t. I don’t know, he got his arse whooped the poor boy. He’s a disgruntled guy who got his ego dinted.”
Beyond the ring, thoughts on Mayweather’s claim that he is racist
This fight, obviously transcends any sport because it’s such a cultural phenomenon. It’s gotten way past that point that it’s just about boxing, or it’s just about MMA. What irks McGregor the most though, is that he is being labelled as racist by some. Mayweather has made it clear that he was offended by McGregor’s “monkey” comments. The Irishman however, says those statements were misconstrued.
“I never labelled him a monkey or any African-American a monkey,” McGregor said. “I would not disrespect any race like that — he knows that too. If I was to label him after any animal it would be a rat. He is a f***ing rat and a weasel because that’s what a rat and a weasel does, tries to manipulate words and create something that’s not there.”
“It’s a weak move on his part to even try and instigate something and something so sensitive but that’s the individual he is. He’s a man who beats his wife in front of his kids,” McGregor said. “All I can say is I never spoke those things. It’s a weak move on his part, it’s a weasel move on his part.”
Long after this fight is dead and gone, the internet will keep all of these moments forever. And the memes, and everything the fans made, will live on.
