Notebook: Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul exhibition bout postponed

Moloney's dream; Farmer update; Ortiz-Hooker site set

The exhibition bout between legendary five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather, who was recently elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and YouTube personality Logan Paul was postponed on Tuesday.

“After an absolutely tremendous response to the fight announcement, we’re hoping to announce a new date very soon along with some new exciting details,” Solomon Engel, CEO and founder of Fanmio, which is financing the event, said in a statement.

The postponement came as little surprise because with less than three weeks to go there has been virtually no promotion for the fight. Also, no location, weight limit, number of rounds or undercard had been announced for a fight that was scheduled to take place on Feb. 20.

The exhibition was announced with fanfare in early December, although they never did give any particulars of the rules and had yet to secure a state commission willing to sanction the event. Weight is a major factor in the fight since the 5-foot-8 Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs), 43, of Las Vegas, and the 6-2 Paul (0-1), 25, are separated by about 50 pounds.

While Mayweather had yet to make any public statements about the postponement, Paul did in a video posted to Instagram.

“The fight is pushed. You may have heard the rumblings, which I am completely OK with,” Paul said. “We knew it was going to be pushed for a minute now (because of) Covid, with some business complications is what I can say. Fight’s still happening. So easy with the rumors there’s no interest. I do feel the need to say this fight broke every single combat sports record for pre-sale pay-per-view numbers. Shattered.”

Paul offered no evidence of such a record but the fight has been available for sale as a streaming pay-per-view on the Fanmio website. Fanmio specializes in selling “personal online meet and greets” with celebrities.

Paul said he and Mayweather hope that it can be rescheduled so they can have a big crowd on hand despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“We want to have a packed arena somewhere, Floyd and I,” Paul said. “And the business side of things we have to iron them out. He’s got a lot of people on his team. (Mayweather adviser) Al Haymon got involved.”

Mayweather fought his last fight in August 2017 at 149 pounds when he knocked out UFC star Conor McGregor in the 10th round of an official boxing match and has never been heavier than 151 pounds for a fight.

More than a year after retiring after knocking out McGregor, Mayweather traveled to Saitama, Japan, for a much-hyped three-round boxing exhibition bout against undefeated Japanese kickboxer and MMA fighter Tenshin Nasukawa, a much smaller man. The exhibition was contracted at 147 pounds and they met on Dec. 31, 2018. Mayweather, who made around $8 million, knocked Nasukawa out in the first round of a farcical mismatch.

Paul made his pro boxing debut in November 2019 and lost a six-round split decision over fellow YouTube star “KSI” Olajide William Olatunji weighing 199 pounds.

Moloney’s dream match

Australian bantamweight contender Jason Moloney (21-2, 18 KOs) hopes to land a shot at the winner of the recently ordered rematch between interim titlist Reymart Gaballo and former titlist Emmanuel Rodriguez, who lost a controversial split decision to Gaballo on Dec. 19 for the vacant interim belt.

“I think Rodriguez should win the rematch. I think he’s the better boxer and will know coming into this rematch that he needs to do more and win more convincingly this time round,” said Moloney, who gave a game effort in a crowd-pleasing seventh-round knockout loss challenging unified world champion Naoya Inoue on Oct. 31 in Las Vegas. “I would love the opportunity to fight the winner.

“It’s my goal and dream to become world champion in 2021 and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. I’m very confident that I beat both Gaballo and Rodriguez. I’ve improved massively since my split decision loss to Rodriguez (for a title during the World Boxing Super Series) in 2018 and I would love the chance to prove that, get my revenge and earn myself a chance at another world title. I’m ready to make this fight happen as soon as possible.”

Quick hits

Promoter Lou DiBella told Fight Freaks Unite that he is working with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn to make an IBF junior lightweight title eliminator between former titlist Tevin Farmer and Martin Ward. “I’m talking to Eddie about the fight potentially for April,” DiBella said. “I’m trying to work out the details.” Farmer (30-5-1, 6 KOs), 30, a southpaw from Philadelphia, lost the belt in his last fight by decision to Joseph Diaz Jr. in January 2020. Farmer wants a rematch, which he was owed from their contract though the timing of it expired during the lockdown from the coronavirus pandemic. Ward (24-1-2, 11 KOs), 29, of England, has won five fights in a row.

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Confirming the Fight Freaks Unite report from last week, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Tuesday that its March 20 DAZN card headlined by the all-Dallas welterweight bout between rising star Vergil Ortiz Jr. (16-0, 16 KOs) and former junior welterweight world titlist Maurice Hooker (27-1-3, 19 KOs) will take place at Dickies Arena in neighboring Fort Worth. “It’s rare that two fighters get to square off in front of their hometown fans, but with Dickies Arena just down the road from where both Vergil and ‘Mo’ were born, this venue is exactly the right place for this fight,” Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya said. “With a likely world championship opportunity at stake in front of friends and family, this is a guaranteed action fight to see either in person or on the DAZN app.”

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Thompson Boxing announced its next edition of its “3.2.1. Boxing” series, which will take place Feb. 21 at the Omega Products International Event Center in Corona, California. The three-bout card will stream for free on the Thompson Boxing website as well as its Facebook and YouTube pages beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. In the main event, Los Angeles welterweight Saul Bustos (13-0-1, 7 KOs) faces Todd Manuel (18-17, 5 KOs) of New Orleans in an eight-rounder. In the six-round middleweight co-feature, Richard Brewart Jr. (8-0, 4 KO), of Rancho Cucamonga, California, will face Atlanta’s Nathan Weston (6-0-2, 2 KOs) and middleweight Nelson Oliva, of Fontana, California, will make his pro debut in a four-rounder against an opponent to be determined.

Show and tell

I spent much of the week of Cinco de Mayo in 2006 in Las Vegas covering Oscar De La Hoya’s challenge of Ricardo Mayorga for his WBC junior middleweight world title. It was a huge fight and fantastic promotion dubbed “Danger Zone,” which was based on the perceived danger that the big-punching and free-swinging Mayorga presented to a De La Hoya who was returning from a 20-month layoff after having been knocked out by Bernard Hopkins in their undisputed middleweight championship fight in 2004. De La Hoya looked outstanding against Mayorga, an opponent who was made to order. He knocked out Mayorga in the sixth round in what turned out to be De La Hoya’s final victory in a world title bout. “Danger Zone” emblazoned signage was all over host hotel MGM Grand, including inside the media center. Yellow plastic “hard hats” that read “Danger Zone” were given out. Of course, not only do I still have my “hard hat” but I also took home this heavy cardboard “Danger Zone” sign from the wall of the media center to add to my boxing collection. It’s an offbeat item from a memorable fight week.