Floyd Mayweather made a point of showing support for Roy Jones Jr. before Wladimir Klitschko called him out.
Klitschko mentioned Jones in his acceptance speech at the International Boxing Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Due to Jones owing a Russian passport given to him by President Vladimir Putin and allegedly crossing the border illegally on a previous visit, Klitschko asked the American a significant question.
The event transpired in front of three years of inductees due to the pandemic. However, the video was cropped by the IBHOF. It wasn’t until later that Jones or Mayweather would have seen it.
Klitschko said: “Unfortunately, the Russian aggression and the war in Ukraine have prevented me from sharing this ceremony with you in person.
“I am super happy to be able to address all of you tonight. Well, almost all of you. There is one person for whom I have a real question. One person broke Ukrainian law by going to the occupied peninsula of Crimea through Russian territory.
“That person is Roy Jones. So Roy, whose side are you on?
“I really respect you as a fighter, but I really question your moral compass.”
Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones
Before seeing Kitschko’s message in full, Mayweather gave appreciation to his fellow nominees after breaking down in tears over the fact his name now stands alongside the greats of the sport.
“Thank You to everybody for your support. To all the fighters, you are all remarkable. There wouldn’t be no me without you.
“I am proud of you all, Shane [Mosley], Bernard [Hopkins], [Juan Manuel] Marquez, [Andre] Ward, Ann Wolfe, Laila Al, and Lou DiBella.
“I am proud of you, all these champions. Miguel Cotto, I am proud of you. Roy Jones, I am proud of you.
“Without you guys, there would be no me. You guys are unbelievable, and everybody who is on this stage deserves to go into the boxing hall of fame.
Jones later offered to fight Klitschko to settle any issues between the pair.
“Klitschko is trying to throw me into this political world, but I have nothing to do with politics,” Jones Jr. told ES News.
“I’m like, I don’t know what you are talking about when you come up with that politics. But if you want a fight, you can call me.”
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