Two of the biggest names in sports journalism said they won't be covering Saturday night's fight because their credential requests were blocked by Floyd Mayweather's team — a charge the fighter's PR team denies.
Here's what CNN's Rachel Nichols and ESPN's Michelle Beadle said on Twitter early Saturday morning.
No fight for me or @MichelleDBeadle. Mayweather's team told my producer the camp was blocking my credential. twitter.com/MichelleDBeadl…
I, along with @Rachel__Nichols, have been banned from the MGM Grand Arena for the fight tonight by the Mayweather camp. #TheFightGame
Mayweather spokesperson Kelly Swanson later took to Twitter to deny the reporters' claims, saying Nichols was indeed credentialed and that Beadle had been credentialed through HBO Boxing.
"No one including ME banned Rachel Nichols from covering the fight," Swanson wrote.
Both Nichols and Beadle have been critical of Mayweather and his record of domestic violence. Nichols even conducted a heated interview with Mayweather last fall that she re-posted on Twitter on Saturday.
Needless to say, it was not a good look for Mayweather, whose record of poor and abusive behavior toward women has been one of the main storylines leading up to the fight with Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather attracted plenty of instant criticism for the reported credentialing decision, including one strong take from boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya.
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