Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. laughs during a press conference Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Las Vegas. AP File Photo
LOS ANGELES, United States—Floyd Mayweather says “racism still exists in the sport of boxing” and he cited UFC champion Ronda Rousey’s name in an attempt to bolster his argument.
Mayweather also mentioned unified WBA, IBF, WBC and IBO champ Gennady Golovkin and former Olympic gold medallist Andre Ward but added the problem isn’t limited to just the men’s side of the sweet science.
READ: Golovkin convinced Mayweather not done, wants fight with him
Mayweather compared Rousey to former pro boxer Laila Ali who retired with a perfect 24-0 record and is black.
“You look at things like this, Ronda Rousey, you know, I think she fought somewhere like 11 or 12 fights. Laila Ali went undefeated and was dominating too,” Mayweather said in an interview Wednesday with FightHype.com.
“After Ronda Rousey fought I think nine, 10, 11 fights, it didn’t even take that long, she got all types of endorsements, movies, and everything. Laila Ali did the same thing in better fashion.
“Ronda Rousey, she’s a good looking woman when she put it on. Laila Ali is a drop-dead gorgeous woman. I mean a naturally beautiful woman and can kick ass, but you never heard them (the media) saying when she had I think somewhere around 10, 11, 12 fights that she was the baddest woman to ever fight on the planet.”
READ: Mayweather shows support for Rousey after loss, offers help in boxing
Mayweather took issue with the ranking system and how it relates to super middleweight boxer Ward and Japanese WBC bantamweight champ Shinsuke Yamanaka.
“I can’t believe they [Ring Magazine] got Andre Ward ranked No. 4 in the pound-for-pound list,” Mayweather said. “Without Andre Ward losing a fight, he has to be No. 2. I mean, he wins his fights not in good fashion, but in great fashion, and they have him at No. 4?
“They got some guy ranked No. 9, I don’t really know his full name, so I don’t want to be disrespectful. But they got a Japanese guy ranked No. 9. They got Andre Ward No. 4, and this guy that’s ranked No. 9, we don’t even know who he is.
“I truly believe that racism still exists in the sport of boxing.”
Asked in the interview to back up his claim, Mayweather said, “You gotta really look at things like this, when Bernard Hopkins was a middleweight trying to fight Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, and Felix Trinidad, they [the media] said he was calling out smaller guys.
“When the guy Triple G (Golovkin) does it, they don’t say shit. Once again, I’m not racist; I’m just saying racism still exists.”
Mayweather has been accused of using racist remarks in the past once saying he would make Manny Pacquiao “make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice.”
He also claimed in a tweet that NBA player Jeremy Lin was getting all the attention “because he’s Asian.”