Boxing: Floyd Mayweather Pulls Back From Retaliating To Former Sparring Partner's Statement

Floyd Mayweather served a strange response to Errol Spence’s claim that he would beat the retired legend in his prime. Instead of engaging in a word war, the 43-year-old boxing great brushed off the taunt as he lauded Spence for his confidence in saying such a remark.

“I’m proud of him,” Mayweather said of Spence in an interview with FightHype. ”He’s supposed to believe in his skills, he’s supposed to believe in his talent. I want all these fighters to believe if they were facing Floyd Mayweather they would win.”

Notably, the 30-year-old Spence was an ex-sparring partner of Mayweather. But “the Truth” firmly believes he could pull the rug from under the erstwhile undefeated icon.

Spence gave the stunning declaration on the All The Smoke podcast, breaking down his virtual game plan against the “Money” man.

“100% focused, I think I’d beat Floyd,” Spence said. “He’s mentally tough. I’d cut him up, and use my jab, throw combinations and work the body and work the head.”

“He’s one of those tough fighters like Shawn Porter. You’re not going to break him down mentally. You can break him down physically, but mentally he’s always going to be there. I would just break him down physically,” he added.

Spence is the current unified welterweight champion who remains undefeated in 26 fights while boasting 21 victories by virtue of a knockout.

But Mayweather speaking highly of his protégé is not without some cryptic message pointed across.

“You can’t just live boxing for eight weeks in training camp,” Mayweather added as he seems to take a jab at Spence. “This is a lifestyle that you’ve got to live your whole career.”

Shifting the spotlight towards him, Mayweather proceeded to highlight his own lifestyle as an active and winning boxer.

“I was disciplined (to) fall around the board as a fighter. No drugs, no smoking, and no drinking. I lived a clean life and I worked extremely hard to be the best,” he said.

“And I respect the guys from the past. I take my hat off for the guys that paved the way for me to be where I’m at because I didn’t start boxing, but I mastered it. You got a lot of fighters that come along, but can they articulate like Floyd Mayweather?”

A five-division world champion, Mayweather has headlined boxing’s top-billed events during his ring supremacy that lasted from 1996 until 2017. He capped his illustrious career by defeating Conor McGregor via TKO, bringing home a flawless 50-0 record as he went to the exits.