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event bigger than this one,’’ he said.

‘‘The two biggest stars in combat sports, the two biggest personalities in sports, two oncein-a-generation talents in one once-in-a-lifetime event’’. The biggest pay-per-view event in history, sporting or otherwise. ‘‘That’s not hyperbole. That’s fact.’’

Fight fans have been streaming into Sin City for days, most of them to support McGregor, who was signing on for dole money four years ago but is now arguably the world’s most famous Dubliner.

Bookmakers say it will be the most heavily backed fight ever, with an overwhelming number of the early punts placed on McGregor to pull off an upset that would rank beside or even exceed James ‘‘Buster’’ Douglas defeating Tyson in Tokyo in 1990.

At The Nine Fine Irishmen bar in the New York-New York casino complex, Mike Arnot, the front of house, said that McGregor fights were already their busiest nights of the year, along with New Year’s Eve and St Patrick’s Day. He was expecting this week’s take to set a new benchmark. Behind him the Guinness flowed, a folk band was in full swing and the place was already packed.

‘‘The plane over [from Gatwick] was like getting on a bus in Belfast,’’ said Chris Lyttle, 27, a site manager from Northern Ireland.

While McGregor has emphasised the intensity of his training, his opponent has taken TIMES GETTY IMAGES an unconventional approach to fight week. Mayweather, a Las Vegas resident who has served jail time for domestic violence, recently opened a lapdancing club ‘‘because breasts, music and alcohol will never go out of style’’.

He promised fans that he would be there, five kilometres north of the fight venue, every night this week. In the early hours of Thursday he arrived at 3.30am and stayed for an hour.

‘‘That’s him, he’s been that way his whole career,’’ said Nate Jones, 45, Mayweather’s best friend and trainer, as he strode into the club that night.

‘‘He doesn’t drink, he just has fun watching women, talking shit and seeing himself make money.’’