5 Boxers Who Took Trash-Talking Way Too Far

Trash-talking has been a part of the boxing game for decades. From Jack Johnson to Floyd Mayweather, talking smack has always been a strategy to get inside an opponent's head. Arguably, the greatest of the trash-talkers was Muhammad Ali. His catchy rhymes and seemingly off-the-cuff remarks were entertaining to say the very least.

Sometimes, a bit of trash-talk can help market a fight. If watching two talented fighters wasn't enough, then watching two talented fighters who hate each other and want to beat each other to a bloody pulp could definitely sell tickets and pay-per-view buys. 

But sometimes, the trash-talk can go too far. Such as Ali calling Joe Frazier an "Uncle Tom." 

A tactic that can be used as a ploy to get in the psyche of an opponent can get downright nasty. It could maybe be considered bullying. 

So let's take a look at boxers who take trash-talking to a whole new level...

Tyson Fury

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Fury is an up-and-comer in the trash-talking business. ESPN.com's Nigel Collins called him a "serious contender" in the game. And, according to Collins, his game is getting so raw that the British Boxing Council told him to turn it down a notch. 

He once tweeted that David Price was a "s--thouse scouse p---k" and Tony Bellew his "gay lover" (per David Anderson of The Mirror). 

Despite Fury's comments, the British boxing public find him entertaining, as Andrew Harrison of The Queensbury Rules notes that boxing fans find themselves "licking their lips in anticipation of a protracted media typhoon that tramples convention and wallops taboo."

The British Boxing Board of Control fined him £15,000 for his foul-mouth actions, according to Anderson.

Ricardo Mayorga

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Mayorga was very good at getting his opponents heated during their press conferences to the point where they became shoving matches. If you witnessed his press conferences, you may have even wondered if the fight would make it to the scheduled date. 

One of Mayorga's most memorable press conferences was the buildup to his fight with Oscar De La Hoya in 2006. On top of calling De La Hoya a "bitch," he proceeded to insult his wife and son.

Obviously, insulting a man's family is crossing the line. The fact that Mayorga wasn't able to back up his trash-talk by getting knocked out by De La Hoya makes him further lose face. 

Adrien Broner

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When Mayweather leaves the sport of boxing, Broner will be heir to the crown of boxing's most prolific trash talkers. Collins lumps Broner and Mayweather in the same category of trash-talkers who are "vain, conceited individuals who dress and behave extravagantly, and never stop jabbering." 

The time he took it over the line was when Broner called up Paulie Malignaggi's girlfriend during a press conference, whom he said he was having intimate relations with. It was a woman that Malignaggi was trying to get out of his life due to her lying, per Bob Velin of USA Today.

Aside from that incident, Broner's trash-talk is fairly harmless. It mainly consists of him bragging about his skills and talking down his opponents. You know, what trash-talking is supposed to be all about.  

David Haye

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The other notable proponent of trash-talking in British boxing is David Haye. 

He once taunted the Klitschko brothers by wearing a shirt that featured both of their heads decapitated and had an app that showed him decapitating an "Eastern European fighter," per The Daily Telegraph.

Haye really went too far when he stated that his fight against Audley Harrison would be as "one-sided as a gang rape," according to the BBC.

Floyd Mayweather

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The biggest fan of trash-talk in boxing has to be Floyd Mayweather. Next to going on social media and reminding us how rich and awesome he is, he seems to always be on the offensive when it comes to talking trash. But the man is good at it, so what can you say? And so far he has backed it up with his unblemished record...

However, even Mayweather can cross the line, as in his racist rant in the NSFW video here. He states that Manny Pacquiao is going to make him "a sushi roll and some rice" and cook it "with some cats and dogs." 

This video is from five years ago, and Mayweather apologized in the end, according to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael. 

Was the apology sincere? I'd like to believe so, but maybe Freddie Roach can play this video over and over to inspire Pacquiao.