The Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor world media tour stormed into New York on Thursday with the fighters unleashing more profanity-laced attacks on each other as they looked to build up interest in their light middleweight boxing bout.

On the third stop of four-day, four-city barnstorming blitz to promote their Aug. 26 Las Vegas clash, the witty barbs that characterised their exchanges Los Angeles and Toronto were replaced by what appeared to be real venom.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) champion McGregor traded in the stylish suits he wore on the previous two legs of the tour for psychedelic pants and a furry white coat worn over a bare, tattooed chest.

He strutted imperiously onto the Barclays Center stage to an Irish ballad and thunderous applause before flexing his muscles, striking poses and rattling off a dance step or two as he waited for the undefeated boxer.

McGregor is expected to be the aggressor in the ring against the former five-division world champion to make up for his lack of boxing experience and has played that role throughout the tour, which wraps up on Friday with a stop in London.

While boxing purists have denounced the fight as nothing more than a laughable cashgrab it has nonetheless captured the fascination of many fight fans.

The attention of the media tour is snatching away any and all coverage for the shows taking place on Saturday. There is a tripleheader on HBO, headlined by a super featherweight showdown between Miguel Berchelt and Takashi Miura, another tripleheader is taking place on FOX, with Robert Guerrero facing Omar Figueroa in the main event, and there is overseas super middleweight battle between Chris Eubank Jr. and Arthur Abraham.

Lou DiBela, who promotes the FOX card, is not surprised.

“To be honest, it’s hurting every fight card out there that’s around it, including this one,” DiBella said to NY Post. “It’s taken a lot of attention and it’s capturing people’s imaginations. It’s not a boxing match. It’s a spectacle.It’s a compelling event to millions and millions and millions of people. One thing Mayweather-McGregor is proving is we’re in the entertainment business. And that’s what we want to do Saturday night on Long Island is entertain people.”