A Few Thoughts On Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul

Disclaimer: I am not a professional combat sport commentator or analyst. Everything I say is through the eyes of the casual boxing fan. If you’re looking for hard-hitting boxing analysis, I have no idea what you’re doing on this website.

Last night, 44-year old Floyd Mayweather fought 26-year old Logan Paul, in what can only be described – if nothing else – as a conversation sparking event.

I am not a professional boxing analyst. I’m a guy who writes about video games, fast food, and his dog on the internet. But the good folks at Dexerto have enlisted us to provide you with commentary about the fight, so that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.

Exactly What Meets The Eye

Any way you slice it, I’d chalk this fight up as predictable and actually decently fun to watch. This wasn’t some coming out party for Logan Paul as a social media star-turned prodigal professional boxer, and it wasn’t the beginning of a comeback tour for Floyd Mayweather.

This was a massive payday for the both fighters, and was exactly what it set out to be – a spectacle, and nothing more. This wasn’t an edge of your seat, blink-and-you’ll-miss it, surgical display of the Sweet Science, this was a popcorn flick that will no doubt get – and keep – people talking about it. No doubt you’ve got a few coworkers in your Slack servers or Discords already chirping about the fight as I type this blog, I know I do.

From the nature of this clash in general, to both fighters talking about “having fun” before and after the fight, to just the sheer ridiculousness of the entire event, you’d have been foolish to gamble on this fight in any real way. Like, if you won a little cash on a prop bet for whether or not Floyd and Logan would touch gloves, neat. If you lost money because you were CONVINCED either one of these guys had any real intention of dropping the other to the mat and that we’d come away with a “clear” winner, you’re an absolute moron.

The Spectacle Continues

Boxing is one of the most oddly and nauseatingly gate-kept sports that I’ve ever seen. You can’t scroll 10 seconds on Twitter through clips of this fight without seeing “Well, as a REAL boxing fan–” or “As somebody who actually KNOWS what they’re looking at–” from armchair analysts around the world. Maybe that’s why the sport is in the state that its in now.

Floyd Mayweather already given “real boxing fans” (whatever the fuck that means) 50 true fights, was ranked by ESPN as the greatest boxer, pound for pound, of the last quarter century, and is inarguably one of the greatest fighters of all time. He has absolutely nothing to prove to fans, himself, or anyone else – so why shouldn’t he cash in on his legacy and continue to put asses in seats with fights like this? Hell, most of the guys Mayweather has already beaten (or ones that never got the chance to share a ring with him) couldn’t dream of the payday and the spectacle he put on last night.

Mayweather himself said after last night’s fight, that if you have an issue with matchups like this… Don’t watch.

For those of you rolling your eyes and saying that this should be about more than a paycheck, or that someone as great as Floyd should be more concerned with growing the sport – there’s definitely a point to be made there, but that’s also not who Floyd Mayweather is. Sure, he’ll continue to put together exciting cards with fighters he’s personally signed to Mayweather Promotions and help them grow, but he’s not solely responsible for helping to help boxing PPVs become appointment television and essential water-cooler conversation again.

Mayweather’s goal was to sell PPV’s. And that’s what he did. Logan Paul, a 26-year old who’s become known for being shameless enough to do pretty much anything for clicks and views, wanted to get the whole world talking about him. And that’s what he did. You don’t have to like it, but this event was a success – even though Showtime’s streaming woes had anybody (including us) who were watching from their portal staring at a 502 Bad Gateway message for the majority of the night.

At the end of the day, Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul both set out to get people talking, keep people watching, and collect a fat check. Like it or not, they’re who you’re talking (and reading) about this morning, so you know as well as I do that they’ve already won.