Mayweather-Paul exhibition bout all about entertainment, not serious boxing
Legendary Hall of Famer faces YouTube star Sunday on PPV
Some love it, some hate it and some don’t give a damn, but whichever camp you fall into there will undoubtedly be a whole lot of people paying attention when retired legend Floyd Mayweather steps back into a boxing ring at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Of course, the International Boxing Hall of Famer won’t be facing a top boxer as he did so regularly during a 1996 to 2017 career in which he won world titles in five divisions, reigned for several years as the pound-for-pound king and became the highest grossing fighter in history.
No, Mayweather will be facing Logan Paul, an 0-1 novice pro, older brother of aspiring pro Jake Paul and known far more for his YouTube videos and social media presence than as a fighter.
In fact, the “fight” won’t even count on their records because Mayweather-Paul, a scheduled eight-rounder on Sunday (Showtime PPV, 8 p.m. ET, $49.99), is not even an official bout. It’s an exhibition. Somebody could get knocked out, but should it go the distance no scores will be rendered.
It is meant to be fun, a diversion from the real world and not taken as a serious sporting event. Mayweather is the first to tell anyone that he hopes fans enjoy the show but not to expect a championship-level fight.
“I look at it as going out, having a good time, and entertaining the people,” Mayweather said Thursday during a media event at the Villa Casa Casuarina — the former Versace Mansion — in Miami Beach. “I do what I want to do, when I want to do it, and how I want to do it.
“I say everybody’s entitled to their own opinion. Nobody has to watch. Nobody has to pay. Do whatever makes you feel good. And I’m gonna do whatever makes me feel good.”
He has admitted to having trained only a few days a week for the bout and has called it a “legalized bank robbery,” because he is going to earn tens of millions of dollars to face a novice in a fight that regardless of what happens will do nothing to alter his pristine pro record of 50-0 with 27 knockouts.
“I’m fighting a YouTuber who thinks he’s a real fighter and I’m getting crazy money for it,” Mayweather said. “This is not a real fight for me. This is a real fight for him. This is not a real fight for me.”
So, he has given the warning but still hopes folks will be entertained by the show between him and Paul, with whom he engaged in an epic 75-second staredown after their press conference on Thursday.
“It’s going to be fun. It’s what I do,” Mayweather said. “There’s a difference between being a YouTube fighter and an elite fighter. I’m a fighter and I don’t worry about anything. I’ve been a professional for 25 years and I’ve fought the best and seen every style and I always came out on top.
“Why not fight Logan Paul? He’s huge on YouTube. He has a huge following. Before I even knew about YouTube, I was huge in boxing. And when you bring his world with my world, man it’s going to be crazy. The boxing was the mashed potatoes. I guess these guys now are the gravy. I retired from boxing, but I didn’t retire from entertainment or from making money.”
“I look at it as going out, having a good time, and entertaining the people,” — Floyd Mayweather
If there is remote intrigue to the match it is that the 6-foot-2 Paul, 26, of Los Angeles, will hold a substantial weight advantage — about 40 pounds — and height advantage against the 5-8 Mayweather, 44, of Las Vegas.
Paul weighed 199 pounds when he lost his only pro fight by six-round split decision to fellow YouTube personality “KSI” Olajide William Olatunji in 2019. He can weigh no more than 190 at Saturday’s weigh-in. Mayweather fought his last official fight in August 2017 at 149 pounds when he knocked out UFC star Conor McGregor in the 10th round and has never been heavier than the 151 pounds he weighed for a junior middleweight world title bout against Miguel Cotto in 2012.
Naturally, Mayweather is not worried about the size difference.
“Most of the time when I go out there and fight I’m giving up 20 pounds,” Mayweather said. “When I was fighting at 140, the guys I was fighting were going up to 160 (after the weigh-in). When I was fighting at 147, guys were going up to 167 within 24 hours. I don’t really worry about the weight. Once again, fighting wins fights.
“I never worry about the height or size. It’s all about the skills. That’s one thing about Floyd Mayweather, I’ve got skills.”
Paul did not show much in the skill department in his one previous fight but nonetheless has been talking like a seasoned pro as he tries to sell tickets and the pay-per-view.
“I think I have to knock him out. Someone’s getting knocked out. Someone’s gonna quit,” Paul said. “I didn’t choose boxing, boxing chose me. I got challenged to box, and I answered that challenge. I kind of fell perfectly into the sport. Truthfully, boxing is easier on the body than MMA. MMA is hard. I got bad knees. I’m old now. I’m aging. My upper body is strong and I have dense bones. My strength is all in my upper body.
“I’m going to fight my heart out. That’s the beautiful thing about this sport. In almost any other business, experience is going to trump everything else. But this is a fight, and anything can happen.”
Mayweather shrugged that off.
“I’m glad he’s got confidence,” Mayweather said. “I’m glad he believes in himself. Last time I checked, all 50 fighters that I faced, they all said the same thing.
“It’s just fun. It’s entertaining. It’s all about entertainment and, of course, when he’s on social media, he’s entertaining to people all the time. This is going to be a crazy event. I’m just glad that I’m able to come back and still entertain and give the people something to see.”
“Bragging Rights”
TV lineup for the Showtime PPV telecast:
Floyd Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) vs. Logan Paul (0-1), exhibition, 8 rounds
Badou Jack (23-3-3, 13 KOs) vs. Dervin Colina (15-0, 13 KOs), 10 rounds, light heavyweights
Jarrett Hurd (24-1, 16 KOs) vs. Luis Arias (18-2-1, 9 KOs), 10 rounds, middleweights
Chad Johnson (0-0) vs. Brian Maxwell (0-1), exhibition, 4 rounds, cruiserweights
Photo: Amanda Westcott/Showtime
It's a joke. Same as when Mayweather making Pacman wait 5 years so pac would be out of his prime
People keep calling it a circus/clown show. Sure, fellas. Clearly. But people pay to go to the circus. People hire clowns for their kids' birthday parties. You don't have to do either. The world is a menu of options. Pick and choose what you want. Others will too. It's not like this particular circus offering messes with your menu otherwise. Not like Floyd was going to fight anyone serious instead and somehow you lost out on that. Other people can have pineapple on their pizza without you getting all torn up about it.