Thursday, Fox Sports 1 “Undisputed” co-host Shannon Sharpe discussed the upcoming bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor, saying the fight “plays along racial lines” because it pits a black American versus a white non-American.

Sharpe said white Americans cheer against their black countrymen in favor of white foreigners, using tennis star Serena Williams against Italian Roberta Vinci and Russia’s Maria Sharapova for examples.

“What we see in America that white Americans would jump on white non-American if they are fighting a black,” Sharpe argued. “We’ve seen this with Serena… Vinci at the U.S. Open. They started openly rooting and cheering for Vinci. They cheered for Sharapova. Serena is black American; a great story from Compton, California. Vinci was from Italy and Sharapova’s from Russia. She might live here, but she’s still Russian. It’s a very interesting dichotomy and I think this fight plays along racial lines.”

Co-host Skip Bayless later said it is his “hope” that we are not falling into a “promotional trap” by making the fight racial.

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent