Will Floyd Mayweather and Ronda Rousey please shut up

THEY’RE the two best fighters in the world in their respective fields. Is it really necessary to carry on like this?

> on July 31, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

AT FIRST it was at least a little entertaining. Now it is sport’s most meaningless feud.

It started back in February of last year, when Ronda Rousey said she could beat Floyd Mayweather in a Mixed Martial Arts fight, and Mayweather infamously replied: “I don’t even know who he is.”

Things heated up a little over a month ago, when Rousey was named Fighter of the Year at ESPN’s ESPY Awards.

After receiving the trophy on the red carpet, the UFC superstar made reference to Mayweather’s history of domestic violence.

“I wonder how Floyd feels being beaten by a woman for once.”

A quality burn, but the back and forth has been relentless since — especially over the past week.

Clearly, both fighter’s next bouts are so pointless that they are resorting to ribbing each other in a desperate bid for publicity.

Rousey meets Holly Holm at UFC 195 in January in a ridiculously one-sided bout that has drawn an angry response from fans, who described it as “throwing a piece of meat into a lions’ den”.

The undefeated Mayweather’s next, and supposedly final, fight against Andre Berto will take place in September, and drew a similar ire from boxing media and fans alike.

Will someone please close that mouth once and for all.

That brings us to this week’s mind-melting niggle between the faux foes.

Rousey claimed she made three times more per second in her most previous win — a 34-second victory against Cat Zingano. She also suggested he was illiterate.

“I don’t know if you saw the Floyd thing. He said, ‘If you make $300 million in a night you can give me a call,’” Rousey told TMZ.

“I actually did the math and given the numbers of my last fight I’m actually the highest paid UFC fighter, and I’m a woman.

“I think I actually make two to three times more than he does per second. When he learns to read and write, he can text me ... I’m just a little bit more efficient.”

Rousey’s maths appear to be way off for the record, as per For The Win: “Mayweather-Pacquiao went all 12 rounds at three minutes per round, meaning Mayweather did 2,160 seconds of work in the ring. Using $220 million as an approximate payday, Mayweather made, unofficially, $101,851 per second,” FTW’s Nick Schwartz explained.

“Rousey, who destroyed Bethe Correia in a mere 34 seconds, officially made just $6,764 per second, but no one knows what Rousey’s actual payday really was. If you do the math, however, Rousey could match Mayweather’s dollar-per-second total (of $101,851/second) if she received $3,462,934 from competing in UFC 190.

“To have made “three times more” than Mayweather does per second, Rousey’s payday would need to be $10,388,802, which seems unlikely given UFC’s stinginess.”

Mayweather, predictably and nauseatingly, hit back overnight.

“Big bank take little bank. Let’s play and see how much money you got,” Mayweather said.

“Last time I checked I was No. 1 on Forbes (money list). She will never be at my status.”

He then added, ironically coming from him: “Keep trying to get publicity.”

Some will argue it’s the media’s fault for chasing them with microphones down the street and giving their comments so much air play. And they’d be right.

But why give a comment at all?

Either get in the ring and do a Bobby Riggs v Billie Jean King, or spare us. Please.

Originally published as Will Floyd Mayweather and Ronda Rousey please shut up