Mayweather vs McGregor Toronto: Floyd steps up, but Conor carries again

In front of another raucous, pro-McGregor crowd, it was once again UFC superstar Conor McGregor whose filthy charisma stole the show at today’s press conference in Toronto, promoting the August 26 boxing match between McGregor and Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

Mayweather, 40, did step up his game compared to Los Angeles. He was less awkward, less jittery, and more in a natural rhythm as he paced the stage with a handheld microphone.

But he also had to follow the 28-year-old Irishman, who went on first, and more and more, that seems like a tough act to follow. Sure, Mayweather is the A-side, the man who will make more money, he’ll walk out second on the night of the fight at T-Mobile Arena, and far more likely than not, he’ll have his hand raised at the end.

McGregor, though, is a charismatic force, and fans in LA and Toronto have responded to him in ways that Mayweather could never imagine seeing for himself. There’s a simple truth emerging here: McGregor is without question the people’s champ, and not just a preferred underdog like many past Mayweather opponents have been.

Floyd has never faced an opponent with this sort of magnetism before. He’s never had to match wits and personalities with someone like this, and it’s clearly a bit of a tough task for him.

The good news for Mayweather and the event is that he doesn’t really need to be able to do so, either. If you still need any evidence about this fight’s marketability and how big of a financial success it’s going to be — mismatch talk be damned — then just watch these press conferences. People are rabid for this fight. They need to see it.

And they’re going to buy it, in no small part because Conor McGregor has talked and will continue to talk them into it.