Boxing: Floyd Mayweather Discusses the Racism That He Believes Still Exists in Boxing

Floyd Mayweather did an interview with Fight Hype and discussed how racism still exists in boxing.  He gave several examples including Andre Ward and Triple G and also crossed into UFC while discussing Ronda Rousey and former boxer Laila Ali.

On Andre Ward’s ranking:

I can’t believe they [Ring Magazine] got Andre Ward ranked number 4 in the pound-for-pound list. Even though the guy that’s ranked number 1 pound-for-pound right now [Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez], you know, you can’t argue about that, but without Andre Ward losing a fight, he has to be number 2. I mean, he wins his fights not in good fashion, but in great fashion, and they have him at number 4? They got some guy ranked number 9, I don’t really know his full name, so I don’t want to be disrespectful, but they got a Japanese guy ranked number 9. They got Andre Ward number 4, and this guy that’s ranked number 9, we don’t even know who he is. I truly believe that racism still exists in the sport of boxing.

Saying Andre Ward shouldn’t go up in weight to fight Kovalev, Triple G should go up to fight Ward:

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 does it, they don’t say shit. Once again, I’m not racist; I’m just saying racism still exists. Do I think that they’re trying to get Andre Ward beat? Absolutely! Andre Ward, if you’re reading this article, if I was you, I wouldn’t move up to 175 pounds to fight the guy, Kovalo [Sergey Kovalev]. Andre Ward is a 68-pounder and I think he should continue to dominate at 168. This is what I think should happen. You know, everybody keeps talking Triple G, so I just started taking notice probably last year. If this guy Triple G is so tough and so bad, you know, from what they say, then let him go up and fight Andre Ward.

On the good black fighters the media doesn’t discuss:

When I sit back and think, it’s so many good fighters out there that they don’t talk about. They don’t talk about Terence Crawford, Nicholas Walters, Gary Russell, Leo Santa Cruz, Sharif Bogere, Richard Commey, Kell Brook, Keith Thurman, Erislandy Lara, Jermell Charlo, Jermall Charlo, Badou Jack, Andrew Tabiti, Danny Jacobs, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Errol Spence, Timothy Bradley, Andre Ward, Adrien Broner, I mean, he’s still a fighter with a lot of personality, Demetrius Andrade, James DeGale, Adonis Stevenson, Deontay Wilder, but you know what? I know why they not talking about these fighters. Because the majority of these fighters are black or affiliated with me and Al Haymon.

On the difference between media coverage & endorsements between Ronda Rousey & Laila Ali:

But you look at things like this, Ronda Rousey, you know, I think she fought somewhere like 11 or 12 fights, which is not a bad thing. Laila Ali went undefeated and was dominating too. After Ronda Rousey fought I think 9, 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.

On the media praising McGregor for talking trash but hating Mayweather for it:

And what’s so crazy, I don’t really know the McGregor guy; never seen him fight. I heard his name actually from one of the runners that works for our company; a little kid named Ken Hopkins. They say he talk a lot of trash and people praise him for it, but when I did it, they say I’m cocky and arrogant. So biased! Like I said before, all I’m saying is this, I ain’t racist at all, but I’m telling you racism still exists.

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source: Fight Hype