Hardly anyone could believe it when Conor McGregor conjured a bout opposite Floyd Mayweather for his professional boxing debut. It went beyond disbelief when YouTuber Logan Paul landed a bout with Mayweather after just one professional fight, that being a loss to fellow YouTube sensation KSI.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul
In the moments before the fight, Paul noted that he didn’t feel nervous ahead of stepping into the boxing ring with the 50-0 Mayweather. That’s probably because he knew he would take a little punishment, but it was an exhibition bout with no official result. What did or Mayweather have to lose?
Mayweather carried Paul through the opening rounds, remaining just at the end of his reach and deftly avoiding anything thrown his way. Offensively, Mayweather did little in the early going, save for a couple jabs to the body, happy to let Paul show what little skill actually possesses.
As Paul tired, Mayweather landed much more frequently in the middle rounds, digging left hooks to the body and landing a couple of uppercuts that certainly hurt Paul. Mayweather didn’t unload with the fury he might show a professional boxer, but Paul took the punches and weathered the storm, clinching and occasionally lobbing a punch or two of his own.
Mayweather took a break in round seven, jabbering instead of punching, after having held Paul’s head under water for the majority of the fight. He seemed to step it up a bit in the eight and final round, but didn’t put Paul away.
There wasn’t going to be an official winner no matter what happened in this fight. There were no judges. No scorecards. Yes, a knockout would have ended it, but Mayweather didn’t really want to look a gift horse in the mouth.
It’s hardly fathomable that Mayweather couldn’t have pulled the trigger on Paul at just about any moment, but he didn’t.
Did that tarnish his legacy? Did that justify Logan Paul and his fellow YouTube sensation-turned-celebrity boxer brother Jake? No to both. They’re all simply taking advantage of a moment in time when people will pay for such exhibition bouts and consider it entertainment.
Next up: Jake Paul versus former UFC champion Tyron Woodley
What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments below.
Tyron Woodley vs. Jake Paul face off in Miami
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Badou Jack vs. Dervin Colina
Former world champion Badou Jack was supposed to face Jean Pascal, to whom he lost two belts via a split decision in 2019. He instead faced late replacement Dervin Colina after Pascal tested positive for several performance enhancing substances.
Colina was clearly overmatched and clung to Jack throughout the first three rounds. He tied Jack up so much that the referee warned that he was about to disqualify him.
In the fourth round, having landed two low blows earlier in the bout, Jack realized he needed to end the fight and did so by knocking Colina down repeatedly until the referee stopped the fight with three seconds left in the frame.
Luis Arias scores massive upset over Jarrett Hurd
In the first true professional boxing match on the pay-per-view, Carlos Arias came out of the shadows to upset Jarrett Hurd in a middleweight bout.
Arias took the fight to Hurd early, outworking him with sharp combinations, while Hurd went head hunting. Hurd looked to have Arias in trouble midway through the fight, staggering him back to the ropes, but he survived, continuing to outwork Hurd.
Arias hit the canvas in the ninth round. Upon replay, it was clear that it was a slip as the rain came down in the outdoor venue, but the referee ruled it a knockdown. After he got up, Arias continued to out-punch Hurd the remainder of the round and lit him up as the round ended.
They slugged it out through the tenth round, but neither could knock the other out. The fight went to the scorecards, but the judges were split. After the scores were tallied, two of the three judges rewarded Arias for outworking Hurd throughout the night to earn a split-decision nod.
One scorecard read 95-94 for Hurd. The other two were 97-93 and 96-93 in favor of Arias, who was a massive underdog in the fight.
Brian Maxwell drops Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson in exhibition bout
Former Cincinnati Bengals star Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson made his boxing debut, opening the Bragging Rights pay-per-view in an exhibition opposite former mixed martial artist Brian Maxwell. The two slugged it out over four rounds with Maxwell knocking Ochocinco down late in the fight. Being an exhibition, the bout was not scored, and no winner was declared.
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