Floyd Mayweather’s real motivation to link himself to Mike Tyson has been exposed by boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.
The announcement of an exhibition involving two all-time greats, Mayweather and Tyson, stunned the combat sports world on the eve of Terence Crawford’s extraordinary victory over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in front of a significant worldwide audience of 42 million people via Netflix. Yet Roy Jones Jr, who boxed Tyson in an exhibition in 2020, revealed this week that there is a reason for that curious timing.
“I was told any time Canelo fights, or there’s a big fight happening, this guy [Mayweather] is gonna make an announcement that he’s doing something different or big,” Jones told Titanplay.
The announcement wasn’t just surprising because of what it said — that the legends were set to trade blows in 2026 — but what it missed out, which is what Jones highlighted by explaining the announcement lacked a specific date, and venue. “So, who knows [if it happens],” he said.
The Real Reason For The Announcement — ‘Manipulation’
Jones said he was told an announcement was coming and that it would break ahead of the Canelo vs Crawford show. He then explained why: “He’s gonna do it every time — try to steal some limelight and make an announcement around that time. And that’s what happened. I don’t really care if it happens or not.”
He added: “It’s everything I thought — fabrication and manipulation.”
But Jones didn’t stop there, he also said that, in his prime, Mayweather would still have lost to an in-form Crawford. In fact, Bud would KO Floyd, he said. “That’s not a very good fight.”
He added: “If Mayweather can’t hit him early in the first round and knock him out, that fight’s over. Crawford is mean. He’s a dog. He doesn’t care about nothing and nobody. He hasn’t been protected. I was unprotected on purpose — I didn’t want a manager because I didn’t want protection. Crawford couldn’t get protection. They said he couldn’t sell tickets. They tried to smear his name and say he couldn’t sell tickets. That’s why he got in the ring with anybody — to prove he belonged among the best.
“That’s the hunger people appreciate – proving you’re among the best, not manipulating the game to fight the biggest names at the right time.”
Mayweather, in contrast to Crawford, never fought a great fighter in their prime, Jones said. Crawford is the one who will end up with the superior career, he added.
“Floyd never fought a great fighter in their prime — he just went around those guys.”
“Have we ever gotten Floyd in the fights we wanted to see him in? No, it was always too late. How many times was Floyd undisputed? Never. If you’re one of the greatest, you’d want to be undisputed.
“Floyd has better names on his resume like Shane Mosley; almost dropped him, but Shane was 38. Oscar De La Hoya — an older Oscar, and we don’t even know if Floyd beat Oscar. Miguel Cotto — lost most of his big fights against great fighters. Diego Corrales — he had his own issues heading into that fight; he knew he was going to prison after the fight. Manny Pacquiao — you fought him after he’d been knocked out. You could’ve fought him earlier.”
“So does he really have a better résumé, or does he have better names because he picked them at the right times? Because he hasn’t been undisputed one time. That tells me you didn’t care to be king of your weight class — you just wanted to make the most money, which you did, by avoiding people for years. But don’t tell me he’s got a better résumé than [Crawford] who called out whoever had a belt and cleaned up to show they weren’t as good as him. Crawford became undisputed in three weight classes. Come on — you’re telling me he doesn’t have a better résumé?”