The holes in Ronda Rousey’s boxing game may have been exposed on Saturday night against Holly Holm at UFC 193, but some of the biggest names ever in that sport have been quick to lend their support to the MMA superstar at the lowest point in her career.
Surprisingly, leading the charge is Floyd Mayweather Jr, the fighter who Rousey had engaged in a war of words earlier this year regarding his history of domestic abuse.
After denying a Twitter message from 50 Cent on Saturday night that claimed he was secretly revelling in Rousey’s defeat, the undefeated boxing champion, who recently retired from the sport, told the FightHype site that he doesn’t hold a grudge against her.
“I commend Dana White and the Fertitta brothers for being able to take a female and make her so huge in a contact sport,” Mayweather said. “I commend them for that, but she had to do her part also, and she did her part. If I was her, I would’ve used Floyd Mayweather’s name also. She’s supposed to do that. It’s business, it’s not personal, and I understand business.”
Mayweather went on to suggest that he’d even be willing to train Rousey to improve her striking skills.
“I want Ronda Rousey to hold her head up high and don’t let this discourage you,” Mayweather stated. “If you need help as far as with boxing, I’m here to help you. It’s all about timing and inches. Her ground game is unbelievable. She’ll be okay.
Mayweather isn’t the only legendary figure in boxing who’s offered words of encouragement to the 28 year-old in the wake of her defeat.
Mike Tyson, who’s Rousey’s often been compared to and even showed up at her gym to watch her train prior to UFC 193, knows more than most about what it’s like to be at the top of the world and then come crashing back down to earth, and he assured ‘Rowdy’ that she’s going to be just fine.
“@RondaRousey a true champ is not defined by wins. You are glorious even still. @danawhite @ufc #ComeBackQueen,” Tyson wrote along with a picture of himself with the former champion.
Another much-loved boxing star from the past, former two-time heavyweight champion George Foreman also rose above much of the negativity and trolling on the internet surrounding the star’s defeat to send her some words of wisdom.
“You made us look, win, lose or draw, you’re the big story, rest, reset you’ll be back,” Foreman wrote.
“Down goes Muhammad,Frazier & Foreman RONDA ROUSEY we all came back so will you.”
Meanwhile, back in the MMA world, UFC President Dana White is predicting big things from Rousey when she does finally return to the Octagon to attempt to avenge that loss
“She’s the mentally strongest f-cking athlete I’ve ever met in my life,” White stated on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Sunday. “When she gets over this loss, she’s going to be a savage. She was a maniac and a hard-worker when she was the best in the world. What’s she going to be like now that she lost?”
