Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ronda Rousey have come to blows once again, but so far, their bouts have been verbal, not physical. After the champion boxer was dethroned as Fighter of the Year, an honor now held by Rousey, the UFC fighter couldn’t resist taking an extra jab at him.
Despite being in separate branches of the sports fighting world, the two are becoming natural rivals in the media.
Mayweather has a reputation for domestic violence which has haunted him outside the boxing ring. When Rousey took the title of ESPY Best Fighter 2015, her jab at Mayweather’s past cut deep.
“I wonder how Floyd feels being beat by a woman for once.”
It is unknown if Mayweather had meant to insult Rousey when the two fighters crossed paths at the Biltmore Hotel a year ago. In that memorable encounter, Mayweather not only mistook Rhonda for a man, but he allegedly didn’t know she existed.
“They asked me about Ronda and I thought it was a guy. I didn’t know it was a female. I apologize. I wish her all the best.”
The Floyd Mayweather vs. Ronda Rousey rivalry began heating up at that point as Rousey took offense.
“I know for damn sure that he knew who I was, because he was running against me for Best Fighter that year and he has signed MMA fighters. So his feigned ignorance was meant to be a snarky remark to me.”
Floyd also apologized for his previous statement in a follow-up interview.
“A while back I didn’t know who Ronda Rousey was, so I’m pretty sure she got upset. I want to say congratulations to Ronda Rousey and the UFC. You guys have done a tremendous job and I’ve won probably six or seven ESPYs for Fighter of the Year. And I truly believe she deserves it. Congratulations to Ronda Rousey.”
Floyd Mayweather didn’t take Rhonda Rousey’s slam about his domestic abuse history lightly, and he took his own jab at the UFC fighter while promoting his upcoming match with Andre Berto .
“I’ve yet to see any MMA fighter, or other boxer, make over $300 million in 36 minutes. When she can do that, then call me.”
Although Rousey is known for her matches lasting less than a minute, she doesn’t earn anywhere near as much as Mayweather for a fight. Some have even speculated that her fights aren’t worth the entry fee because they don’t last long enough.
Do you think there is a potential cross-sport fight on the horizon? Would you want to see a Floyd Mayweather vs. Ronda Rousey fight in the ring?
[Photos By Al Bello / Getty Images and Matthew Stockman / Getty Images]
