BEVERLY HILLS, June 07, (THEWILL) – The renowned American boxer, Floyd Mayweather, who went through his boxing career with an unblemished 50-0 record, was back in a boxing ring Sunday night for the first time in nearly four years.
However, he was not on to face a traditional foe or even a fellow combat athlete dipping his toe into a new discipline. Instead, the former five-weight champion returned to swap punches with a social media kingpin, the YouTube and Instagram sensation, Logan Paul.
Paul, who is hugely popular on YouTube and Instagram, stepped up to the exhibition challenge against Mayweather atop a unique four-bout card from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and fought Mayweather to a draw on Sunday night.
Their exhibition bout went the full eight rounds, and though no winner was announced, Mayweather was by far the stronger of the two. Known to be flagrantly lavish with his wealth, Mayweather, who is nicknamed “Money” was well rewarded for the pay-per-view bout.
Before the fight, Mayweather revealed that he was guaranteed to get around $30 million, for a total haul that could potentially net him between $50 million and $100 million. It might not have matched the $180 million he reportedly received from fighting another true boxing legend, Manny Pacquiao, in 2015, yet it was all in a night’s work for the “Money” man.
In his post-fight interview, Mayweather called Paul a “great young fighter” admitting that he was “better than I thought he was” while adding, “I was surprised by him tonight. Good little work. Good guy.”
Mayweather had opportunities to end the fight as a contest several times during their bout but rescinded from going all out. Whether it was something that they worked out behind the scenes or if it was Mayweather’s intention cannot be ascertained.
Credit for the draw must also go to Paul. The 26-year-old’s body endured some relatively big blows from Mayweather yet he remained on his feet throughout never once hitting the canvas in the eight rounds against one of the greatest fighters of this generation.
With this under his belt Paul, will get some legitimacy as a boxer, will attract bigger prize money and attention and will milk the success for everything it is worth with his huge following on social media using Instagram and YouTube. After that eight-round pummelling, it will be something he thoroughly deserves.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
