By: Sean Crose
“JUNE 6, 2021!!!! #MIAMI
Me and Logan Paul will be fighting at the Hardrock Stadium.”
So claimed the one and only Floyd Mayweather on Instagram Tuesday evening. The fight between he and Paul had been announced for earlier in the year, but had been postponed – some felt because of lack of interest. Now, however, the battle is back on. Perhaps tellingly, this all comes on the heels of Logan’s brother Jake’s pay per view success several weeks ago when the YouTube influencer knocked out former UFC notable Paul Askren with a single shot in a Triller promotion.
Mayweather appears happy to remain with Showtime, who he has worked with for close to ten years now. Per the fighter’s Instagram page: “@mayweatherpromotions@fanmio and @showtimeboxing have come together to bring an epic Event!!! Tickets will be going on sale next week….” Frankly, a matchup between Mayweather and Paul was a tough sell. It might still be, but the public’s love of novelty bouts may mean that this can turn out being a success. Mayweather, after all, has been the pay per view king over the past fifteen years or so. His 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao brought in over 4 million buys – same for his 2017 bout with UFC star Conor McGregor.
Mayweather and Paul were originally set to face off on February 21st. That was supposed to be an exhibition bout. There’s been no announcement yet as to what the June fight will be. Logan’s brother, Jake, has previously fought as a professional. Logan himself lost his professional debut when he dropped a unanimous decision to Olajide William Olatunji back in 2019. As for Mayweather, his professional record still stands at 50-0. His last fight was an exhibition during New Years’ Eve 2018 against Tenshin Nasukawa, a kickboxer Mayweather made easy work of.
Like his younger brother, Paul got his start as a social media star before kicking off his boxing career. The former industrial engineering student has literally earned millions of fans. With that in mind, Paul has fought as a cruiserweight and stands over six feet tall. Mayweather, on the other hand, last fought professionally at welterweight and stands at 5’8. Perhaps the size difference will be a selling point. Many were convinced, after all, that McGregor might beat Mayweather when they fought in McGregor’s boxing debut. “What if?” became a selling point.
And nobody knows better than Floyd Mayweather how to sell a fight.