LONDON (TNND) — A group of people confronted boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. in London after he expressed support for Israel, The Sun reported on Tuesday.
Up to 10 people were involved in “going after” him, and somebody “took a swing” at him after he “doubled down” on support for “the Jews,” the newspaper quoted witnesses saying.
“Someone said that Mayweather had been shopping when he was asked why he supported Israel. He doubled down and said he was proud to support the Jews,” one witness reportedly told the outlet. “Then someone took a swing at him because of that. It looked very targeted.”
That witness added that Mayweather Jr., who had been shopping in the central part of the city, was struck during the incident, according to The Sun.
“Floyd took a few hits during it, but his security was trying to push people back. I couldn’t really see Floyd trying to throw any punches back,” the outlet quoted the bystander as saying. “His guards were just trying to get distance between him and them.”
Another witness told The Sun someone shouted that Mayweather Jr. supports genocide.
“There was a massive argument going on. People were pushing trying to get him and slap his head. All these macho men were trying to fight him,” that bystander said, according to The Sun. “They ran him out and his security was pushing him trying to get him away. They were getting punched. He got rushed away in his Rolls-Royce. There were drinks thrown at him as he drove off.”
Mayweather Jr. didn’t provide much of a response to the claim he supports genocide, the outlet quoted the witness as saying.
“He was like, ‘Let’s get the f*** out of here,’” the bystander reportedly said.
Mayweather Jr. posted on Instagram Tuesday night “there’s no truth to the rumors going around,” writing that he’s “perfectly fine, and there’s really nothing more to it.”
“I wasn’t punched or touched in any way. What you’re seeing is just my security doing their job to keep things under control,” Mayweather Jr. said. “I was in the UK for a quick 48-hour stop to do some shopping, and unfortunately, people let jealousy and negativity fuel false stories.”
