On Sunday, June 6th, 2021 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, we saw boxing legend Floyd “Money” Mayweather (50-0) compete against YouTube sensation
Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition. This YouTube sensation, whose brother just scored a TKO against UFC star Ben Askren in short fashion, challenged the arguably greatest boxer of all time, and the G.O.A.T. accepted. This exhibition came with a lot of excitement due to the pure circus act this exhibition truly was. Talk about a bizarro world.
When you ignore all of that and look at the numbers, these two killed it. A website with unconfirmed sources reported that between the two, they made $120 million off of this fight. That’s absolutely bonkers.
The exhibition itself was alright. Paul wrapped up Mayweather a lot during the contest, which honestly is smart because all of you internet “experts” that shat on this strategy don’t know what you are talking about. Paul also lasted all eight rounds, which actually didn’t impress me as they were only three minute rounds; what did impress me is the fact that Paul landed good shots and combos on Mayweather as well as taking some absolute knockout blows. Paul didn’t even get knocked down in the fight!
Of course people on Twitter moaned and complained about this celebrity boxing exhibition just as they did Jake Paul v. Ben Askren and even McGregor v. Mayweather. Hell, people moaned about Mayweather v. Pacquioa. Time and time again this happens. Spectacle fights happen … people complain it was too fast or that it went the distance. To this, I scratch my head and say … why? Aren’t boxing matches supposed to end in knockout or go the distance?
Besides Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua, who all fight maybe once a year, who in boxing is worth paying money to watch? The sad fact of boxing is that unless they have personalities like Fury, Wilder, etc., boxing is incredibly boring. I like boxing, I do. But, I only like it when it’s worth watching (ie Fury or celebrity). People say celebrities like the Paul brothers ruin the sport, to which I say … how? They bring more eyes and money to the sport than almost all of boxing’s top guys. It’s also not like they make a joke of it either; they train hard, and it shows.
I like this era of boxing. If you’re a boxing fan you should, too, because your sport is actually relevant again. The last big boxing match before these celebrity fights took over was, in my opinion, Fury v. Wilder II, and that was in February of 2020. Then, before that, the last BIG boxing contest that everyone was talking about was Mayweather vs. McGregor from August of 2017. And, I’ll go as far as to say that boxing hasn’t been relevant as a sport since Mike Tyson’s heyday (and even he cashed in on celebrity spectacle fighting).
Former NFL WR Chad Ochocinco even cashed in on this trend and got himself a boxing match against Brian Maxwell and held his own. In fact, the only thing sports talk shows talked about on the day after the fights besides Paul v. Mayweather, was the fact that Chad got knocked down, brushed it off, and got right back onto his feet as if he were back on the gridiron. A former NFL WR with zero boxing experience was the talk of major sports broadcasts because he got up and went the distance, ending his fight in a draw. What does that tell you about the current state of boxing?
Boxing is hitting a new golden era; you can thank the Paul brothers, Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather, and Chad Ochocinco, and there’s nothing you can do about it besides sit back and watch … which you will.
Boxing needs this sort of spectacle, and it needs it badly. I’m one hundred percent here for these spectacle celebrity fights.
Celebrity fights are here to stay. Who would you like to see in these contests? Celebrity fights I want to see include:
Tyson Fury v. Braun Strowman
Conor McGregor v. Chad Ochocinco
Jake Paul v. Johnny Manziel
Logan Paul v. Rob Gronkowski
Shaq v. Charles Barkley
Aaron Rodgers v. Jordan Love
Mike Tyson v. Evander Holyfield
Kwame Brown v. Gilbert Arenas
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