Thursday saw the final press conference between unified light-welterweight champions Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez to decide one undisputed champion ahead of their Saturday showdown. The Top Rank media team decided to have a little fun at the expense of a former fighter of theirs.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. bought himself out of his Top Rank deal in 2006 and has since said signing for them was "the biggest mistake of his career". Of course, in the 15 years since, he has become the most lucrative fighter in boxing history.
Nonetheless, his latest money-making venture, a non-professional "exhibition bout" with YouTube personality Logan Paul, has not been well-received by the boxing industry at large.
After Logan's brother, Jake Paul grabbed headlines by stealing Mayweather's baseball cap at a media event for the June 6 sideshow, Top Rank's press release for the Taylor-Ramirez bout came with a degree of shade.
It read: "Nobody's hat was stolen. No brawl broke out. WBC/WBO champion Jose Ramirez and WBA/IBF champion Josh Taylor were all business Thursday at the final press conference for Saturday's undisputed junior welterweight world title showdown at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
"Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) and Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) are fighting, not only to maintain their unbeaten records but to become the sixth man to attain undisputed status in the four-belt era. For the first time since the matchup was officially announced nearly three months ago, the two best 140-pound fighters in the world were face to face. A little good-natured trash talk followed. But that's to be expected."
Top Rank chief Bob Arum said at the conference: "I'm very excited. Now at the end of this pandemic, we have the best fight of the whole pandemic experience.
"We don't have to sell anything about this fight. We just mention the fighters. They are both undefeated, both former Olympians, both world champions. This will be a great fight! With Jose as a fighter, you have seen his accomplishments, but I'm more impressed with the man he is outside of the ring. I'm proud of Jose."