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Say what you will about him, Logan Paul is not a stupid young man. He’s already a multi-millionaire because of his social media savvy, and on Sunday, he’s going to add millions more to his bank account by doing something he’s not very good at.
You have to be brilliant to pull that off, and Paul has done it.
He’s going to receive a paycheck larger than many boxing legends ever received when he fights Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami in the main event of a Showtime Pay-Per-View card.
The bout isn’t going to be judged, and a winner won’t be announced, but let us not deceive ourselves here: Logan Paul has zero chance in this lifetime of winning one second of any round in a real fight with Mayweather.
This, of course, isn’t a real fight despite what you may have heard. And what was friendly banter at the beginning of the promotion turned harsh when Paul’s younger brother, Jake, swiped Mayweather’s cap at a kickoff news conference.
Horror of horrors and those involved tried to act like it wasn’t staged. Yep. And Mister Ed really was a talking horse. But we digress.
If Mayweather really were angry at Logan Paul, he’d beat him within an inch of his life if that’s what he wanted to do. Mayweather is one of the greatest fighters who ever lived, and Paul is not a fighter. That is a recipe for disaster, and Paul knows it.
No, Paul will not mentally break Mayweather
At a media workout in Miami on Wednesday, Paul acquitted himself fairly well. He’s a sharp guy in many areas and he knows his way around the media landscape at this point.
He did, however, make one huge mistake Wednesday. He said he would break Mayweather mentally.
It’s far more likely that Paul lands a clean 1-2 and knocks Mayweather unconscious than it is that he’ll break Mayweather mentally. But there he was, making that claim as he spoke of why he’ll be able to do what pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez was not able to do in 2013.
“I’m going to play with Floyd, gonna dog him and hit him hard,” Paul said. “I’m going to break him down physically, mentally, everything.”
This is basically going to be professional wrestling with boxing gloves, so anything could happen. A real fight between these two wouldn’t be sanctioned by any competent commission (though there are plenty of incompetent ones in the U.S.). Mayweather is 50-0, a champion at five weights and one of the best fighters who ever lived. Paul is 0-1, having lost not to a boxer or an NBA player, but another YouTuber.
It’s going to be entertainment, not sports, though promoter Leonard Ellerbe has put together a solid slate of undercard fights that are worth watching.
It’s not the entertainment a lot of people have been asking for, but both men are going to be well compensated for their efforts, so there’s a market for it. That shows just how smart Paul is, to maneuver himself in the way he has to the point he’ll make millions to get into a ring with Mayweather.
Paul, to his credit, seems to recognize how lucky he has been.
“This whole thing is surreal,” he said. “Everything about it. I told my manager and we kind of had an inside joke that until I get in the ring with him, I didn’t think this fight was happening. But I think it’s safe to say that I can believe it now. I think it’s happening. It’s fight week. I can’t imagine Floyd would back out now, but who knows? Old man fakes an injury. Gets scared of the big kid. I’m excited.”
Why Mayweather-Paul is a good thing
He was selling the show when he was asked why he’d fare differently than Alvarez or Conor McGregor, the ex-UFC champion who fought Mayweather in 2017 and sold 4.4 million pay-per-views.
Paul is going to have at least a 30-pound weight advantage, and in his best faux boxer voice, he insisted that gives him a shot. It doesn’t, but hey, he’s working.
“I’m just not them,” Paul said. “I’m not going in there at 155 pounds. I’m not going in there with the fight meaning the entire world to me. I have nothing to lose. This whole thing is going to be fun for me.”
Hopefully, it’s a fun event and the people will get value for their money. The Paul fans will come out in big numbers, but they don’t exactly fit the demographic of a typical boxing fan, so it’s not clear that they’ll care too much about the undercard.
It’s not my thing, but Mayweather and Paul will make some money, nobody will get hurt and hopefully, there are people who are entertained. Those are good things.
Let’s just hope Paul doesn’t begin to think he’s actually a boxer. That’s when it could turn ugly.
Lord help us if it does.
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