Retired boxing legend, Floyd Mayweather, claimed that he was the face of Mixed Martial Arts.
Mayweather won 15 world titles in boxing and is considered the greatest boxer of his generation. He has never, however, fought in an MMA match. That did not stop Mayweather from expressing his usual bravado where MMA was concerned.
“I’m not just the face of boxing, I’m the face of mixed martial arts also. And I’m not an MMA fighter, but I do support all contact sports,” said Mayweather during an interview with ESPN Boxing. “I haven’t seen an MMA fight in a while, but anytime I see an MMA fighter that wants to take a picture with me, I’m gonna take a picture with them because they go through a lot. Fighters go through a lot to get to a certain level and MMA fighters go through a lot just like boxers go through a lot.”
Many believe that the latest back and forth between Mayweather and MMA superstar, Conor McGregor, is simply to drum up interest in a fight between the two world class athletes. Mayweather has spoken about beating up McGregor and said he would come out of retirement to do it. McGregor most recently posted a cartoon of he standing over a fallen Mayweather, holding both a boxing and an MMA belt. McGregor also referred to himself as C.J. Watson, an NBA player who carried on a relationship with a former girlfriend of Mayweather.