Showtime Vice President Stephen Espinoza wasn’t expecting to be a victim of Conor McGregor’s verbal assault yesterday (July 12).
The second press conference on the McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather tour took place in Toronto. “Notorious” spoke first and blasted Mayweather, Showtime and Espinoza. What got McGregor heated was the fact that his mic went out during the first presser.
Despite denying that they cut off the mic on purpose, McGregor wasn’t buying it. Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Espinoza admitted the digs caught him off guard:
“I’m not sure whether it’s part of the show. I’m not sure how much is a put on. It seemed more than that. It certainly wasn’t a wink and a nod. And it wasn’t backstage saying, ‘Hey, I’m doing it for the good of the show.’ The reality is you see what some athletes — whether combat sports or otherwise — the need to invent enemies and invent opponents to motivate. He’s obviously got that in Floyd. If this is part of his process of imagining the world against him and motivating himself, then that’s his his process. I’m a big boy. It’s certainly not somebody that has come after me as a network. It did take me a little bit by surprise, but it’s part of the entertainment value of the McGregor business.”
