David Haye has insisted that Logan Paul is good for boxing. The YouTube sensation tackles boxing legend, Floyd Mayweather, on Sunday night in an exhibition bout in an event that is likely to draw a vast audience.
Paul has flirted with boxing in the past with other online sensations but this will be his first fight against somebody possessing legitimate fighting skills.
Haye, a former two-weight world champion, says that Paul’s influence is good for the sport and that it can help boxing receive more exposure.
"I disagree with a lot of people - I think it's great,” said Haye when speaking to the Daily Star. “When KSI fought Logan Paul, I realised how many non-boxing fans paid for a boxing event and as a result of that lots of people watched the undercard. Who was on the undercard?
"Billy Joe Saunders. Saunders fought the number one fighter in the world, Canelo Alvarez, and how many people tuned into this event as a result of seeing him on the undercard of KSI? So it grows boxing.
Haye continued, “And anyone who doesn't like it, you can realise it brings fans to boxing, it's not taking anything away from boxing it's actually adding to it, that's how I see it. Bringing in these guys who have got mega fan bases into the sport of boxing.
"Would we rather they go and play darts? How does that help boxing? Guarantee if Logan Paul went and played darts, darts would go through the roof.
"We're just lucky enough to have a sport that's really exciting, people are interested in it and people just want to see celebrities who may not be boxers or even athletes fighting each other.”