Having demolished kickboxing wunderkind Tenshin Nasukawa in his last exhibition (watch highlights), Floyd Mayweather returns to the circuit tonight against hulking YouTuber Logan Paul.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of tonight’s main card right here, starting with the Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast at 8 p.m. ET.
Logan and his brother Jake Paul went from content creators to pugilists in recent years, though Logan is still in search of a breakout victory after drawing with “KSI” in his professional debut back in 2019. Mayweather, meanwhile, once again emerges from retirement, having stopped Conor McGregor and Tenshin Nasukawa in his last two efforts.
The main card’s two pro bouts see former champions Badou Jack and Jarrett Hurd take on unbeaten Dervin Colina and struggling former contender Luis Arias, respectively, while the NFL’s Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson tries his hand at the sweet science against MMA and BKFC vet Brian Maxwell.
Let’s take a gander at that main event:
Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr.
Age: 44
Record: 50-0, 27 KO
Last Five Fights: Conor McGregor (TKO-10), Andre Berto (UD), Manny Pacquiao (UD), Marcos Maidana (UD), Marcos Maidana (MD)
Significant Victories (other than those mentioned above): Canelo Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya, Zab Judah, Arturo Gatti, Jose Luis Castillo (x2), Diego Corrales, Angel Manfredy, Genaro Hernandez
VS.
Logan Paul
Age: 26
Record: 0-1, 0 KO
Last Five Fights: Olujide Olatunji (SD Loss)
Significant Victories (other than those mentioned above): N/A
THE FIGHT
To be perfectly frank, I’m not angry or aghast or perturbed or any other negative adjective about this. This Sunday date means it’s not leeching viewers from actually relevant fights and, as I said after Jake Paul’s rout of Ben Askren, this sort of thing fits right into boxing’s ludicrous status quo.
That said, the positive adjectives are also in short supply. The only two points of interest are Mayweather’s age and Paul’s size, and only one of those really holds up to scrutiny. Sure, Mayweather’s 44, but he’s low on physical mileage and has perfectly adapted his style to compensate for his reduced mobility.
The size, on the other hand, is almost a legitimate concern. Paul’s six inches taller than Mayweather and outweighs him by more than 40 pounds come showtime. Unfortunately, he’s also painfully slow and short on cardio, giving him precious few opportunities to actually bring that size and ostensible power to bear. Even a diminished Mayweather will be running circles around him within three rounds, and he can probably stop an exhausted Paul through accumulation of strikes if he deems it sufficiently safe.
At the end of the day, you really just have to ask yourself one question: would Mayweather — who managed his career and the opposition therein with a master’s touch — take this fight if it posed any sort of risk to his legacy?
Prediction: Mayweather via moral victory (there aren’t any judges)
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of tonight’s main card right here, starting with the Showtime PPV broadcast at 8 p.m. ET.