This is nothing new. Even the great Ali said the most horrendous shit during the lead ups to his fights. Far worse than even Conor or Colby.
The whole point is that it creates this kind of polarizing reaction. People reacting negatively is exactly why it's so effective at selling tickets.
And for someone like Colby who otherwise wouldn't be a draw or lacks any semblance of charisma, going to those extremes in an attempt to make himself the villain is the only real play he has.
At the end of the day, it worked.
Yeah, I watched Ali's fights and trash talk in the 70s and don't agree that he was worse than what these guys are saying; he always made me laugh as a kid because what he said was funny and was seldom anything like what those guys said (there is more than one way to talk smack and brag, Ali had way too much style and charisma to be compared to those guys). Also, Ali was a cultural icon and a towering figure in the civil rights and anti-war movements of his time, and the sum of what he said can in no way be compared to trashy losers like Colby and Sean.
Yes, Ali said Frazier was an Uncle Tom and a white man's champion, and that was hurtful and shouldn't have been said- but Ali did apologize to Frazier later in his life, and we all can understand the complexity of Ali, and that he again cannot be compared to trashy losers trying to make a name for themselves.
I have followed the fight game since the mid 70s when I watched with my dad as a young kid, MMA, boxing, and to some extent kickboxing. I remember a lot of smack talk, but this week is the worst I have heard when you consider context and what was said.
I don't agree with all of this "Ali already did this" sentiment. They said that about Colin K kneeling, but if Kap had half the wit, charisma, and thoughtfulness that Ali had, he would have been able to take his message much further. There is only one Ali.
