Mayweather, McGregor poised for history-making fight

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After months of hype and profanity, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor take their war of words into the ring on Saturday for a boxing mismatch that is poised to become the richest fight in history.

Mixed martial arts star McGregor, 29, will carry a substantial weight advantage into Saturday's 12-round boxing contest at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, after a raucous weigh-in that saw him face-off with Mayweather for the final time before fight night.

With waves of green-shirted fans in a crowd of around 6,000 roaring their support for the Irish superstar, McGregor tipped the scales at 153 pounds, well inside the 154-pound limit.

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor of Ireland arrives on stage for his official weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, US on August 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Former welterweight champion Mayweather, 40, who has emerged from a two-year retirement to take on MMA star McGregor, weighed in at 149.5 pounds.

The naturally bigger McGregor – who screamed into Mayweather's face as the two men went nose-to-nose – said he expects to enter the ring at closer to 170 pounds.

McGregor, who has never fought in a professional boxing contest, is a massive underdog for a fight, which is expected to beam live to around 200 countries and territories across the globe.

But the former apprentice plumber from Dublin, who was unemployed four years ago, defiantly predicted he was ready to spring a monumental upset on the skillful Mayweather, one of the finest boxers in history who boasts a perfect 49-0 record.

Boxing pundits, coaches and fighters have lined up to dismiss McGregor's hopes of succeeding where 49 others in Mayweather's 21-year career have failed.

Floyd Mayweather. /Photo via The Source

The build-up to the mega-fight has also been mired in accusations of racism by Mayweather who was told by McGregor to "dance for me boy" during the fighters' four-city press tour.

McGregor has since said he suffered "slips of the tongue" although many pundits think that the racial overtones have been a major element making this the most expensive fight in history.

Saturday's one-off bout is expected to see Mayweather earn as much as 200 million US dollars and McGregor potentially pocket around 100 million dollars.

There will be no titles on the line, only a gaudy “Money Belt” with a strap made from crocodile leather and featuring 24 karat gold, 3,360 diamonds along with sapphires and emeralds, but much will be riding on the result.

For Mayweather, it will be the culmination of a life’s work, a chance to surpass former heavyweight great Rocky Marciano, who retired with a perfect 49-0 career record.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters