Sunday’s exhibition fight between Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul surprised the fight fans that believed Floyd would dramatically punish and knockout the YouTube star. There were varying expectations and predictions from the boxing world, each that considered the significant advantage that a professional boxer has over an internet celebrity. However, given that it was only an exhibition and to some degree a glorified sparring match, the point may not have been to deliver a knockout anyway.
The action of the fight didn’t pick up until the third round, and it was more spurts of action, at the hands of Mayweather, rather than consistent action. Paul quickly tired out, showing visible fatigue by the fourth round. Floyd, on the other hand, looked like he could go another 8 rounds by the end of the fight, showing no signs of exhaustion.
After the third round Mayweather started catching Paul with clean shots and dismantling him with his signature counters. Out of exhaustion, Paul began to fall into a habit of smothering Mayweather with his weight and undisciplined clinches, which lasted until the very end of the fight.
The only notable punch Paul was able to land was a desperate right hand in the fourth round that grazed the top of Mayweather’s head.
Overall, it was Mayweather’s clean counter left hooks, straight rights, and educated defense that kept the fight entirely in his favor. Although the action wasn’t satisfying, especially for those expecting a knockout, the entertainment was mainly due to the fact that a Youtuber was facing one of the best boxers in the world. The action wasn’t supposed to match up to a championship fight, and those who expected that level of action may have never seen an exhibition fight before.
In the post-fight interviews, Paul expressed his satisfaction with having gone the distance with Floyd. He felt that he beat the odds that night. Mayweather even complimented Paul saying, “he was better than I thought.” But when asked if he thinks Paul could make it in boxing in his own weight division, Floyd said, “I think it will be more difficult against the guys in the heavyweight division.”
If Paul does choose to continue in boxing, a complete change of lifestyle and new levels of dedication and commitment to the sport would be necessary.
