Aussie Olympic hero takes aim at 'tosser' Floyd Mayweather

Australian Olympic Games boxing star Harry Garside has labelled Floyd Mayweather a "tosser" after the American reportedly turned away a young male fan because he had painted nails.

The American boxing great sparked controversy after video emerged of him denying the fan a photo opportunity due to his appearance.

'BECAUSE YOU'RE PRETTY': WWE star slams 'disrespectful' farce

'WHO IS IT': Bizarre statue of boxing legend leaves fans baffled

'GRAVE CONDITION': Boxing champ in hospital after bear attack

Footage emerged through TMZ of a young fan approaching Mayweather as he was being escorted out of the Staples Center in Los Angeles by his security detail.

The young fan asked for a photo, but was reportedly denied because Mayweather said he had painted nails.

"You got painted nails, I don't take pictures with guys with no painted nails," Mayweather can be heard saying in the video.

The young fan is heard describing Mayweather as a "homophobe" as he reacts with shock to the boxer's snub.

The incident has seen Mayweather condemned around the world and Garside - who won Australia's first Olympic Games medal in boxing for 33 years in Tokyo - admits it was "pretty sad" to see one of the sport's biggest icons acting in such a manner.

Garside's Olympic journey was one of the most captivating stories for Aussie fans and his reputation as the ballet dancing boxer has earned him a legion of fans.

The 24-year-old Aussie has been an advocate for mental health and also enjoys painting his nails - a fact he was quick to point out to Mayweather on social media.

Floyd Mayweather incident was 'pretty sad'

Reacting to the American's controversial fan snub, Garside shared an Instagram post that included a photo of him clutching the Olympic bronze medal between his fingers, with the Aussie drawing a circle around his nails to highlight the point.

He captioned the photo with: “Guess I won’t be asking fellow Olympic Bronze medallist for a photo,” tagging Mayweather and referring to him a classless "tosser".

Garside later spoke with Fox Sports News to share his immense disappointment in Mayweather.

“I think Floyd has every right to deny anyone from taking a photo with him. [But] I don’t agree with it at all, and I think the way he handled it was very poor – to put that young fan on show. I think that’s sad,” Garside said.

“It just showcased to me the society we live in, we put athletes, celebrities, people who have money on a pedestal, when I don’t think they really deserve it.”

“That young person was such a fan... and for him to turn him away like that, and to make it really obvious about why he was turning him away, was, I think, pretty sad,” Garside added.

Garside is set to make his professional boxing debut on the undercard of Tim Tszyu's November 17 showdown against Japan’s Takeshi Inoue in Sydney.

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.