Barman blags seats next to celebs at ‘fight of century’
A cheeky barman blagged his way to a ringside seat at the “fight of the century” by sneaking past security and he even managed to capture an A-list photo album by taking selfies with celebrities including P Diddy and Jennifer Lopez.
Oliver Regis, who works at The Kings Head in Stamford, bought a £2,500 ticket for the Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor bout in Las Vegas on Saturday (August 26) which located him on the second tier near the top of the T-Mobile Arena.
But the crafty Conor McGregor superfan tricked his way into the lower level by pretending to be with Floyd Mayweather’s security team and walking with them past heavy security.
Oliver, a former Stamford Welland Academy pupil, then made a beeline for the third row where he plonked himself in an empty seat next to NBA star LeBron James.
The pint puller, 32, then got a selfie with Mike Tyson before he moved when P Diddy turned up as he was in the rap star’s seat.
He then mingled with the crowd and got snaps with a host of celebrities including Gerard Butler, Jeremy Piven, JLo, Demi Lovato, Eric Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Amir Khan, Chris Hemsworth and Floyd Mayweather Sr.
If that wasn’t enough, Oliver then headed to the ninth row where he found another seat near actor and former footballer Vinnie Jones who he also got a quick snap with.
He said: “I just went straight through with them [security]. Once I knew I was in there I knew it would be alright.
“LeBron James was there with his wife and he sat next to me.
“P Diddy turned up so I had to move to the corner of the ninth row.
“The only time I felt nervous was asking Mike Tyson for a picture, because he is still an intimidating figure. I asked him and he just nodded at me and was silent.”
Getting ringside was something Oliver had planned before the event.
“I always had it in my mind to do it. If I just wear a Conor McGregor T-shirt and jeans I would stick out so I put on my suit.”
After the fight in which his icon was stopped in round 10, Oliver managed to get backstage by shadowing a woman who showed her pass to security, and then mingled with more stars such as British boxer Tony Bellew and UFC president Dana White.
Oliver has been to four out of the last five of the UFC star’s fights and even has a tattoo of him on his right leg.
Oliver, whose flight from the USA landed back in the UK on Tuesday, is no stranger to blagging his way into events. He used the same method to bypass security in Las Vegas at two of Conor McGregor’s UFC fights.
The story of Oliver’s blag has made worldwide news and he has been interviewed by a host of television channels and websites such as ESPN.
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