Floyd Mayweather Jr defended Justin Bieber for the racist 'n' word joke that he had cracked as a young teen.

The 37-year-old boxing legend, who has been friends with the 20-year-old pop brat for years, said that everyone makes mistakes when they're young and it's just a part of growing up, the Mirror reported.

Mayweather, who admitted to feel proud of what the 'Never Say Never' singer had accomplished as a musician and a business man, also shared a snap of him with Bieber on Instagram, writing that the singer had always been kind to him and his family.

Earlier, the scandalous video, which showed Bieber using the 'n' word, had caused ripples, for which he had apologised.