Ronda Rousey recently became the first woman to grace the cover of Ring Magazine, but retired boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. used the historic accomplishment as an avenue to comment on the state of boxing, seemingly taking another shot at UFC’s bantamweight champion in the process.
“Well, you know, congratulations, but you know the sport is starting to look bad when a female fighter from a whole other sport is on the cover of a boxing book,” Mayweather said, according to FightHype.com’s Ben Thompson.
The cover—which can be viewed below courtesy of RingTV on Instagram—is slated to hit newsstands Nov. 15 following Rousey’s battle against Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia:
“You gotta realize this, we all know Oscar De La Hoya owns the Ring Magazine,” Mayweather added, per Thompson. “That shows you; he has no fighters but Canelo. Basically, it’s like he’s trying to steal her from Dana White. Richard Shaefer, he built Golden Boy from the ground up, helped them make tons and tons of money, and what did this guy do?”
This isn’t the first time Mayweather has made unflattering comments involving Rousey.
Over the summer, Mayweather told BoxingScene.com (via ESPN.com) he “didn’t know who he is,” when asked about the UFC superstar.
Rousey later took a jab at Mayweather after winning swiping Best Fighter at the 2015 ESPY Awards.
Not only did Rousey ask the undefeated fighter how he felt getting “beat by a woman for once,” in reference to Mayweather’s past domestic violence incidents, according to ESPN.com, but she decided to address the insult that started it all.
“I’d like to see you pretend not to know who I am now,” Rousey added at the ESPYs, per ESPN.com.
Verbal spats aside, Rousey will have a chance to reassert her dominance again Nov 14. against Holm (9-0). While both fighters are undefeated, Rousey (12-0) is the class of the sport and has shown no signs of slowing down at 28 years old.
Rousey’s last three fights have lasted a grand total of 64 seconds combined, as knockouts have seemingly developed into a formality when she enters the octagon. And while Holm is an undefeated challenger with a strong track record, Rousey figures to enter this weekend’s showdown a heavy favorite.
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