Boxing purists: Accept Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul for what it is — an absolute spectacle. Nothing more, nothing less.
And whether you’d like to admit it or not, “The Best Ever” and a YouTuber headlining a pay-per-view exhibition bout Sunday night from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens makes sense. Specifically, a whole lot of cents, and we’ll tackle that in a bit, but sense, too.
So, it might irk you to hear this, but it’s time to change that chorus of ‘why?’ to ‘why not?’ when it comes to arguably the greatest boxer of all time fighting a social media superstar.
Mayweather: "I retired from boxing, not entertainment
Perhaps Mayweather said it best during Thursday’s media availability session:
“Why not fight Logan Paul? He’s huge on YouTube. He has a huge following. Before I even knew about YouTube, I was huge in boxing.
“And when you bring his world with my world,” he continued, “man it’s going to be crazy.”
Mayweather added: “The boxing was the mashed potatoes. I guess these guys (social media stars boxing) now are the gravy. I retired from boxing, but I didn’t retire from entertainment or from making money.”
For Mayweather, 44, it’s just that simple. Why not pick up another hefty check and deposit more millions into the bank account for 24 minutes of easy work? (If it even lasts that long).
For Paul, 26, just luring Mayweather into the ring Sunday night is a humongous win, and quite possibly his greatest content creation yet.
“This is me in my element,” Paul told media Thursday. “This is what I came out to Hollywood to do when I started making videos. That was the precipice. This was the end game. This is what I wanted and signed up for. It’s all exciting for me.”
He added: “I visualize everything. I’ve seen it all before it happens.”
A one-sided match-up
On a pure boxing level, we know what it is. In one corner, we have Mayweather — TBE — 50-0 with 27 knockouts. The man who has defeated legends of the sweet science such as Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and could very well be the greatest boxer of all time.
In the other corner, we have Paul, an undoubted social media sensation, who’s just getting his feet wet with boxing. And let’s keep it funky, a man who’s younger brother, Jake Paul, is actually the better boxer.
That “hit and don’t get hit” adage that Mayweather has touted through the years will rise to a crescendo Sunday night. Roy Jones Jr. told TMZ Sports that Paul has a 0 percent chance against Mayweather. I slant it more toward 0.1 percent, you know, in case hell freezes over.
Expect Paul’s stiff 6-2 frame to get pummeled by Mayweather, who won’t get touched unless it's in a clinch.
That’s the predictable boxing outcome. But that’s not why this pay-per-view will be ordered. The latter is for the spectacle, the show of it all.
Mayweather vs. Paul: social media numbers
The climax of Jake Paul snatching Mayweather’s hat and getting beat up for it. The climax of Thursday's media availability being at Villa Casa Casuarina at the former Versace Mansion in South Beach and whatever antics transpire during the weigh-in Saturday. And perhaps the foreshadowing of Mayweather vs. Jake Paul — especially if Paul can find a way to defeat Tyron Woodley on Aug. 28.
The numbers of it all scream 'why not?' Paul boasts a social media reach of 60.7 million, including 23.1 million subscribers on YouTube, 19.4 million followers on Instagram, 12.2 million fans on TikTok and six million followers on Twitter.
Mayweather’s own 25.8 million Instagram followers and 7.8 million followers on Twitter aren’t paltry.
However, Paul’s social media following alone marked good enough reason to entertain and subsequently make this fight. Paul's social media following will garner interest in this pay-per-view. And that interest will turn into buys.
Already, Mayweather vs. Paul is conjuring more interest than many loaded boxing cards that we’ve already watched in 2021 thus far. That Jake Paul and Woodley will be in attendance and former NFL star wide receiver Chad Johnson is making his boxing debut in a four-round exhibition against Brian Maxwell only adds to the show of it all.
So, when it comes to Mayweather vs. Paul, one can pout about it.
Or you can simply Inject it into your veins for what it is — a television/streaming spectacle with the numbers to back it up.