Rousey? Never heard of him

It was in May when Ultimate Fighting Championship chief Dana White told Fox Sports that Ronda Rousey would give boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. a real fight.

“Ronda wouldn’t beat him,” White said at the time. “She’d hurt him badly. She’d hurt him badly.”

No doubt that statement sent Mayweather over the edge.

Or did it?

No one apparently bothered to ask Mayweather. And he apparently wasn’t even aware of the comments.

Finally this week, writers from USA Today and BoxingScene.com asked Mayweather what he thought about Rousey as an opponent.

Mayweather shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know who he is.”

One of the reporters explained that Rousey is a top UFC fighter, and he again shrugged his shoulders and essentially repeated himself.

Think Mayweather was playing around?

Check out the video, and he looks as serious as the St. Louis’ Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright talking about giving Derek Jeter pitches to hit in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Wainwright later claimed to be kidding, but his tone suggested otherwise.

Given Mayweather’s preference for opponents who do little more than inflate his win-loss record, he should give Rousey a chance.

The sad truth is a Mayweather-Rousey fight has a better chance of taking place than a Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao match. Not that it matters anymore with Pacquiao past his prime.

■ OVER THE LINE — OK, sure, Fox’s Erin Andrews was well off her game in her questioning of Wainwright after he backpedaled from his earlier statement that he gave Jeter easy pitches.

And, yes, it was grating for her to buddy up to the pitcher and blame social media, which blew up after Wainwright’s comments, for creating the controversy.

Whatever. Maybe Andrews, never the hardball-interview type anyway, has become even softer since going to “Dancing with the Stars.”

But one thing you never do, especially if you’re a public figure, is wish anyone dead.

A Boston radio host, however, couldn’t help himself, reacting as if Andrews had sided with the Boston Marathon bombers.

“What a (expletive),” WEEI’s Kirk Minihane said on the air. “I hate her! What a gutless (expletive)! Seriously, go away. Drop dead. I mean, seriously, what the hell is wrong with her? First of all, follow up. Second of all, the guy admitted he did it. He admitted it. He told reporters he threw a couple of pipe bombs. How is that social media’s fault? I hate her.

“I seriously hate her so much. Social media is the reason she has a big house! Shut up. Shut up. I shouldn’t call her a (expletive), I’m sure she’s a nice person.”

That last line ought to soothe any hard feelings.

To his credit, Minihane issued a formal apology on WEEI’s website and expressed his regrets on Twitter.

“There is no defense for the language I used today to describe the work of Erin Andrews,” he tweeted. “I deserve all the criticism I’ve received.”

Minihane later tweeted: “It was immature and absolutely uncalled for.”

He appears sincere, but WEEI still must take some sort of disciplinary action, or it will look worse than its now sorry host.

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL