White: MayGregor isn’t black vs. white it’s G.O.A.T. vs. Irishman
Dana White: “Everyone was calling Gerry Cooney the Great White Hype. Not true. What it was was The Irish Thing.”
Boxing has long been fueled by ethnic rivalries: Jewish vs. Italian, Italian vs. Irish, and black vs. white. Mayweather once said McGregor’s popularity wouldn’t be what it was if he wasn’t white; Notorious responded bitterly.
There’s people buried in the desert for less than that,” replied McGregor. 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.”
UFC president Dana White recently appeared on Fox Sports 1’s Speak For Yourself with Cowherd and Whitlock and was asked about the role that race plays in MayGregor.
“You know the history of combat sports, a lot of it has been based on the racial dynamic, black vs. white,” said co-host Jason Whitlock. “Let’s speak transparently. If it were two white guys or two black guys, could it happen, could it be a big deal?”
White argued that it’s not black vs. white, it’s a boxing legend vs. an Irishman.
“I’m going to tell you something right now,” began White. “Do you remember when Gerry Cooney was fighting Larry Holmes? And everyone was calling Gerry the Great White Hype? Not true. What it was was the Irish thing. The Irish thing is so big.
“Me and my partner Lorenzo, when we first met Conor McGregor, we felt it with him. We felt that energy and that buzz with him within the Irish community. If you look at Boston, New York, Chicago, Kansas City, San Francisco, Savannah Georgia, places you would never imagine where these huge St. Patrick’s Day parades happen. That’s why we added Toronto in. I told Haymon and Mayweather, ‘You can’t believe how many Irish are in Canada too.’ It’s the Irish thing. The Irish thing is big.
“Yes, you have an African American who is arguably the greatest of all time against an off-the-charts charismatic, incredibly hard-punching Irish fighter. It’s huge.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor will take place on August 26, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.