You probably remember the circus leading up to the "Money Fight" in 2017. It was everywhere. Conor McGregor, the sharp-tongued king of the UFC, was set to box Floyd Mayweather Jr., the undefeated defensive master. The trash talk was legendary, but one specific stunt left a lot of people scratching their heads. McGregor was spotted wearing a Golden State Warriors jersey—number 23.
Most fans assumed he was just trolling Draymond Green. Green even thought so himself, taking to Instagram to tell McGregor to take the jersey off because "we rocking with Floyd." McGregor’s reply? "That's CJ Watson mate. I don't know who the f--k you are."
It was a cold, calculated move that had almost nothing to do with basketball. To understand why Conor McGregor brought CJ Watson into the spotlight, you have to look into a dark chapter of Floyd Mayweather's personal history.
The Story Behind the Number 23
The connection between CJ Watson and Conor McGregor isn't about friendship or sportsmanship. It’s about psychological warfare. CJ Watson is a former NBA point guard who played for the Warriors from 2008 to 2010. During that time, he became a central figure in a domestic violence case involving Floyd Mayweather and his former partner, the late Josie Harris.
According to police reports and court documents from 2010, Mayweather entered Harris's home while she was sleeping and confronted her about text messages he found on her phone. Those messages were from CJ Watson. Harris later described Watson as her "summer love" in a draft of her book.
The situation turned violent. Mayweather was accused of pulling Harris’s hair and punching her in the head in front of their children. One of their sons, Koraun, actually ran out of the house to alert security. Eventually, Floyd pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and served two months of a 90-day sentence in 2012.
McGregor, who spends a lot of time researching his opponents' vulnerabilities, used this. He didn't just want to beat Floyd; he wanted to remind him of his lowest moment.
Why McGregor Chose This Specific Troll
Conor is basically the grandmaster of getting under people's skin. Before the jersey incident, he had already tweeted a cartoon of himself standing over a knocked-out Mayweather with the caption: "Call me CJ Watson!" By wearing the jersey, McGregor was doing three things at once:
- He was mocking Mayweather's past legal troubles.
- He was suggesting he was the "new" man in Floyd's head, much like Watson was in 2010.
- He was baiting the NBA world into the promotion, which worked perfectly when Draymond Green bit.
Honestly, it was a pretty polarizing move. While some fans thought it was a brilliant "mental game," others felt it crossed a major line. Using a domestic violence incident involving the mother of someone's children as a promotional tool is a heavy choice. Josie Harris actually released a statement through her attorney at the time, asking McGregor to stop "capitalizing off of the trauma."
The Draymond Green Mix-up
The funniest part of the whole CJ Watson Conor McGregor saga was the collateral damage. Draymond Green, who has worn 23 for the Warriors for years, genuinely thought McGregor was wearing his jersey.
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Green posted on Instagram: "We rocking with Floyd bro not you... take that off bruh."
McGregor’s response was a masterclass in dismissive arrogance. He told Green to "stay in school" and made it clear he didn't care about basketball. He was "dribbling heads off the floor," not balls. It was a classic McGregor moment—turning a misunderstanding into a viral headline that kept the Mayweather fight at the top of every news feed.
Was It Effective?
In the world of combat sports, "effective" usually means "did it sell tickets?" The answer is a massive yes. The fight became the second-highest pay-per-view event in history. McGregor proved he could reach into the deepest parts of an opponent's biography to create a narrative.
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However, in the ring, the psychological games didn't seem to rattle Mayweather much. Floyd is famously composed. He stayed patient, let McGregor tire himself out, and finished him in the 10th round.
But the CJ Watson reference remains one of the most cut-throat examples of pre-fight trash talk ever seen. It showed that McGregor wasn't just a loudmouth; he was a guy who did his homework on every single detail of his opponent's life.
Key Takeaways for Fans
If you're following these kinds of high-level feuds, here is what you should keep in mind about how this unfolded:
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- Deep Research: McGregor doesn't just talk; he looks for specific "pain points" in an opponent's history.
- Media Manipulation: By involving an NBA jersey, he pulled in an entire secondary audience of basketball fans who otherwise might not have cared about a boxing match.
- The Line of Ethics: There is a massive difference between mocking a fighter's skills and mocking their family history or legal past. Most fighters agree that McGregor pushed the limit here.
- Legacy Matters: Even years later, people still search for the CJ Watson connection. It’s a testament to how well Conor builds a "story" around a fight.
If you ever see a fighter wearing a random jersey from a decade ago, there's a 100% chance it's not about the team. It’s almost always a message. In this case, it was a message that Floyd Mayweather likely never forgot.
To stay ahead of the curve on sports rivalries, always look past the surface-level insults. The real "burns" usually require a bit of digging into the archives.