Floyd Mayweather made a lot of money from his boxing match with Youtuber Logan Paul to which he calls a “fake fight”.
After competing in an exhibition bout with Paul to which neither man was declared a victor, Floyd Mayweather confirmed that he earned $100m from his controversial match. After his protege Gervonta Davis knocked out Mario Barrios in the 11th round to claim the WBA super lightweight title, footage emerged from the post-fight press conference of Mayweather boastfully claiming to have earned $100m from a “fake fight” as he called it.
“I’m the only person that can do a fake fight and get 100Ms (millions),” said Mayweather. “I could do legalized sparring and get 100 M’s”.
Many fans and the boxing community stated that the fight should not have even happened in the first place because an elite athlete like Mayweather should not be getting in the ring with a Youtuber. In response, the 50-0 boxer has snubbed those criticisms and gloated about the money he’s made, comparing himself to a bank robber.
“Am I the best bank robber?” he rhetorically asked Mayweather Promotions CEO, Leonard Ellerbe. “Because I don’t know nobody in sports that’s my age and can still stick ’em up like that.”
The fight with Paul was not as exciting as people thought it would be. Many believed that Mayweather could do what he wanted in the ring with him and that it would be only a matter of time before he got the knockout. However that wasn’t to be as the Youtuber made it all eight rounds and even caught the undefeated boxer a couple times.
One thing is for sure. The PPV numbers were high (One million buys) as they always are with a Mayweather event, and the man himself walked away with a whole load of cash. His ability to make the most of opportunities with a “fake fight” and leverage a big payday for himself is undeniable, and that perhaps is why he compares himself to a “bank robber.”
It’s not the first time Floyd Mayweather has participated in these crossover sport-celebrity fights. In 2017, Mayweather fought MMA star Conor McGregor in a boxing match and also fought kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in 2018, a fight “strictly for entertainment purposes”. In both bouts, Mayweather was paid handsomely.
Do you think these crossover celebrity fights should continue to happen in boxing?
