Mayweather Jr. McGregor Fight Delayed "A Little Bit" Due To Pay-Per-View Problems
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Latest on the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight (all times local):
8:45 p.m.
Conor McGregor will have to wait a bit longer to challenger Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The start of the fight has been delayed while Showtime PPV consults with various TV systems around the country and tries to resolve some transmission issues.
That's according to a Showtime spokesman, who said the fight would be delayed "a little bit."
There have been reports on social media of problems with the transmission of the telecast. Fans complained UFC's Fight Pass, which was streaming the fight, has locked up or is impossible to get into.
Mayweather's fight with Manny Pacquiao in 2015 was also delayed because of heavy demand on cable and satellite systems.
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7:56 p.m.
Conor McGregor was calm and confident in his televised pre-fight interview, telling Showtime's Jim Gray that he would "paint a beautiful picture" in his fight against heavily favored Floyd Mayweather.
McGregor was subdued in the interview, and he was still wearing a dress shirt, tie and vest, even though his hands were already wrapped about an hour before the start of the bout.
"I'm going to go out and be myself — free, spontaneous, creative — and paint a beautiful picture," he said. "I see me truly outclassing this man and putting him to sleep."
McGregor said he thought he weighed "about 170" pounds after rehydrating from Friday's weigh-in, where he was 153. Mayweather weighed in at 149 ½.
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7:30 p.m.
Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have arrived at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip for their much-hyped 154-pound fight.
McGregor came sporting a shorter haircut than he had in the days leading up to the fight, with his girlfriend behind him pushing their 3-month-old baby in a stroller.
Mayweather is guaranteed $100 million for his night's work, and could make double that if the pay-per-view buys are strong as expected. McGregor's guarantee with the Nevada State Athletic Commission is $30 million.
There are two more fights on the undercard before the main event begins. There will also be two national anthems, with the U.S. version sung by Demi Lovato and the Irish anthem by Imelda May.
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6 p.m.
The televised undercard is underway as the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight draws closer.
The T-Mobile Arena is still virtually empty for what is expected to be a late-arriving crowd. Promoters had nearly 2,000 tickets still to sell on fight day at prices ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.
Irish fans filled the arena the day before for the weigh-in, when McGregor weighed 153 pounds and Mayweather 149 ½.
The fight is expected to set records on pay-per-view, with some 5 million homes buying at $99.95. The main event is expected to begin about 9 p.m. local time.
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5 p.m.
The big money continued rolling in just before fight time at this city's sports books, with several million-dollar bets on Floyd Mayweather Jr. to beat Conor McGregor.
Bookies had faced taking a big loss because McGregor tickets outnumbered Mayweather tickets by as much as 18-1 at some books. But the big bets started coming in Thursday on Mayweather and at the William Hill chain of sports books 74 percent of the money on straight bets was on Mayweather.
There were a handful of million-dollar bets on Mayweather, with three coming in just hours before the fight. The biggest reported bet on McGregor is $100,000.
Bookmakers say they still will post a big loss should McGregor beat Mayweather, especially if he stops him early. If Mayweather wins, though, it will be a big score by the sports books.
Mayweather was minus 600 at William Hill, down from 11-1 when the fight was announced.
The fight is shaping up to be the biggest bet fight ever, breaking the mark of about $50 million set in Mayweather's win over Manny Pacquiao in 2015.