NEW YORK - Floyd Mayweather is not ducking the "punches" and has launched a fierce counter-attack.

After he came under fire from folk, including rapper T.I., for shopping at Gucci, the boxing icon dismissed the criticism, charging that the dissenters were just using any in-vogue trending topic to claim attention for themselves.

Gucci has been targeted for a consumer boycott after it rolled out a black balaclava sweater that featured cartoonish lips around a cut-out, prompting accusations of blackface.

"In this day, celebrities and failing artists pick and choose the hottest trending topic as a means of seeking attention and using fake advocacy as their platform when their talent no longer benefits them," Mayweather posted online.

"The same celebrities stirring the pot over brand that they, without doubt, will continually buy, are the same artists that inject rap lyrics fuelled with drugs, murder and sexual promiscuity into the very black communities you're pretending to care so much about."