Floyd Mayweather has missed a trick by ducking a Dublin press conference with Conor McGregor
Irish fans were left disappointed when Dana White revealed that the Mayweather vs McGregor promotional tour would be touching down in London - but not Dublin
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Your support makes all the difference.There are going to plenty of times in the coming weeks where the Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fanfare leaves us scratching our heads in disbelief - and already a highly questionable promotional decision has been made.
It was announced on Thursday that the Mayweather vs McGregor promotional tour will not be touching down in the Irishman's homeland, but rather heading to London ahead of the August 26 clash.
The news was announced by MMAJunkie on Thursday afternoon after they were told the news by UFC President Dana White during a sit-down interview carried out earlier this week in Las Vegas, Nevada.
No further details about the tour have been released, but it's believed the reason it won't be touching down in Dublin is due to the Mayweather camp wanting each of the press conferences to be staged on neutral ground.
Of course, the news yesterday was met with uproar on social media by Irish fans who were expecting to catch a glimpse of the two together on local soil.
So is this promotional malpractice? Or is it a wise decision given the previous history?
Those further away from the McGregor epicentre must be thinking it's an obvious missed opportunity to promote the fight at a significant venue. Those who have been following the Irishman for longer than a year may still have the memories of March 31, 2015, burned into their minds when the UFC 189 World Tour rolled into Dublin.
Having watched their man receive an hours worth of Uh Vai Morrer [You will die] chants in Brazil, the Irish sensed their opportunity for payback and a 'lively' crowd at the Convention Centre Dublin welcomed the then UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, with a fearsome atmosphere.
For the most part, it was good fun, but at times the chants and threats from the booze-fueled crowd were a bit much and not everyone left feeling proud of everything that unfolded that evening.
No doubt Mayweather will have seen the endless footage that came out of the evening. The image of McGregor snatching the belt from under Aldo's nose and raising it above his head to the delight of the Irish fans will forever be in the Irishman's highlight reel and it's likely the undefeated world champion boxer will want to avoid something similar happening to him at all costs.
Mayweather does appear to have got his way here, but it also feels like this is a real case of promotional malpractice. Mayweather and McGregor going back and forth verbally in front of a rampant crowd in Dublin would've made a serious amount of money and would've no doubt blown the fight up that little bit more.
It's funny to say it, but even the first ever billion dollar fight looks as though it is going to leave some money on the table.
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