“It was harder than Floyd anticipated, I believe,” Mike Tyson said during a video interview with Zab Judah, referring to Floyd Mayweather’s exhibition bout with Logan Paul this past Sunday in Miami. Like many observers, the former heavyweight king felt Mayweather, who officially retired in 2017, was far from his best. Although he appeared to get the better of Paul, many believed Mayweather should have knocked the man out, even though Paul was far bigger and close to twenty years younger than Mayweather.
“I think he should continue fighting guys his weight,” said Tyson of the fighter known as Money. “What the fuck is he doing?” As far as Tyson is concerned Mayweather should “fight Pacquiao again or something.” What’s more, Tyson said he felt Mayweather was fighting a guy on Sunday who was too big for the former welterweight king to be truly effective against. “Was he boxing with cruiserweights?” Tyson asked of Mayweather’s training. “How did he train for this?” Although Paul weighed in as a cruiserweight, Tyson made it clear during the chat that he doesn’t buy some of boxing’s current weight ranges. “One hundred ninety pounds to me is a heavyweight,” he said.
Still, Tyson saw some positives in Sunday’s highly anticipated exhibition. “I think he can learn from this one,” he said of of Mayweather. “I think he would make more money if he fought Pacquiao again.” Tyson also indicated he was unimpressed with Mayweather’s strategy against Paul. “Floyd didn’t make the big guy chase him,” he said. “You make the big guy chase you.” Interesting enough, Tyson told Judah that he has an idea for Paul’s next opponent. “I’m trying to get Logan Paul to fight Badu Jack,” he said. Although that bout wouldn’t spark the interest Mayweather-Paul did, it would certainly be a challenge for Paul, as Jack is a big and active fighter. Also worth noting is the fact that Sweden’s Jack also impressed on the Mayweather-Paul card.
“Boxing’s got to recuperate from this,” Tyson said of Sunday’s exhibition, not elaborating further on the matter. Although it’s hard to say what Tyson meant, it’s worth noting many in the fight community (though perhaps not Tyson himself) believe a sense of perspective is now in order, for fighters like Paul and his brother Jake are dominating the attention in spite of having thin resumes. With novelty bouts like Mayweather-Paul, and Tyson’s exhibition match against Roy Jones last fall drawing in so many eyeballs, people are asking what will become of contemporary boxing’s legitimate talent. Novelty fights between social media stars, former greats, and notable former UFC stars are certainly entertaining, but they aren’t representative of the best boxing currently has to offer.
