Floyd Mayweather is probably the last person we’d expect to throw their support behind Ronda Rousey after her botched comeback fight defeat at UFC 207. The two spent much of the last two years engaged in a back and forth press feud, kicked off when Ronda beat Floyd for the 2015 Best Fighter ESPY award. “I wonder how Floyd feels being beat by a woman for once,” Rousey quipped during her acceptance speech.
But rather than revel in Ronda’s latest misfortune, Mayweather took the time to address the former UFC bantamweight champion in a video interview uploaded to FightHype_earlier today.
“God only made one thing perfect … and that’s my boxing record!” Mayweather joked. “So Ronda Rousey, hold your head up, stay focused. Keep believing. A true champion can bounce back. You’ll be okay. Everything will be okay. … I don’t want her to think this is the end of the world. She’s hearing it from the best. She’ll be okay, Ronda Rousey hold your head up, still a true champion in our eyes. You made women’s MMA huge, so stay focused, go back to the drawing board, and do what you gotta do. 2017 is a whole new year. That was 2016 from that mistake. Now it’s 2017. So you’re undefeated this year. Come back, champ!”
A surprisingly classy response from Floyd Mayweather, who continues to show he knows when to flip the switch and play the good guy when it serves him best. Who knows, maybe in a few months the two will be right back at it with headlines flying left and right. But with so much negativity being thrown at Rousey these days from all sides, it’s nice to see a bit of solidarity amongst combat sports champions.
