Search icon

Boxing

15th Jul 2017

Jim White couldn’t quite believe Sky’s unique Mayweather vs. McGregor comparison

Some 'tale of the tape'

Patrick McCarry

We always wondered what it would be like if Sky Sports ever signed a deal with the UFC…

Out of seemingly nowhere, Sky Sports News got into the Mayweather vs. McGregor hype madness and, as is their wont, they threw the kitchen sink at it.

Sky are in the running to get the pay-per-view broadcast rights, in Ireland and Britain, for the August 26 bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor. ITV are the main competitors, with a similar Box Office set-up, but Sky will be hoping to seal an exclusive deal in the coming weeks.

The pair will clash in the boxing ring but it was interesting to see how Sky dealt with a UFC star they have rarely reported on in the past.

To demonstrate how fully behind the fight they are, Sky Sports News ran for close to 90 straight minutes on the London leg of the fight’s promotional world tour. That included getting in former world heavyweight boxing champion David ‘Hayemaker’ Haye and Bellator fighter Michael ‘Venom’ Page, and interviewing a body language expert to see who was edging the face-offs.

All that paled in comparison, though, when Sky unveiled their unique tale of the tape comparison. There was the usual reach, age, height and win/loss record but there was a deeper look at net worth, social media followers and, err, a tattoo count.

McGregor was on the wrong side of most comparisons but bossed tattoo count 6-0. A proud day for the parish.

When the cameras cut back to presenter Jim White, he remarked, “Tattoo count… I’ve never seen that before.”

Viewers at home couldn’t believe it either:

https://twitter.com/M_Sarfo15/status/885943785288585216

https://twitter.com/TheSGG88/status/885936499367215105

Welcome to the mad-house Sky.