Irish bookmaker Paddy Power have sucked up plenty of publicity by fitting professional athletes with their green pants over the last few years: Nicklas Bendtner the most high-profile example in the past.
Last night, they caused some controversy among Irish fans at the weigh-in by sponsoring Floyd Mayweather, who appeared on the scales wearing a pair of Paddy Power branded pants.
They were embossed with the message, "Always bet on black".
The bookmaker took a lot of slack from Irish fans online, with Irish international James McClean among those to criticise the Irish company for sponsoring McGregor's opponent:
McClean was among many Irish fans to vent anger, with the bookmaker inundated with criticism, to which they responded as follows:
Yes, we’re Irish, but we’re allowed to hang out with non-Irish people, too. Besides, Floyd’s got a great, great, great aunt who’s half-Irish
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) August 25, 2017
The inventor of the snake emoji is a proud man tonight. #PPinVegas 🐍
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) August 25, 2017
Paddy Power explained the provenance of the stunt on their blog.
They claim that they were designed by Mayweather himself, as a riposte to McGregor's 'Fuck You' suit:
Costing around £3,000 the briefs, designed by Mayweather himself, are emblazoned with the phrase ‘always bet on black’ in an apparent gut-shot to his opponents ‘fuck you’ pinstripe suit effort...
...We presented him with his custom-made Paddy Power Lucky Pants, which we had collaborated with him on – it was his team’s idea to work in the ‘Always Bet on Black line’ as a riposte to Conor McGregor’s infamous ‘Fuck You’ suit stitching a couple of weeks back.
See Also: Watch: Conor McGregor Gets In Floyd Mayweather's Face With Tirade Of Abuse At Weigh-Ins
