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On June 6, undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and YouTube sensation Logan Paul collided in a special exhibition boxing match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
On paper, this should have been a complete whitewash as Mayweather is a 50-0 boxer who has comfortably beaten the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in the past. His opponent Logan Paul is 0-1 in professional boxing and had never faced a legitimate boxer before the fight against Floyd Mayweather.
The only advantage Logan Paul had in this fight was his size. He had a four-inch reach advantage over Mayweather and weighed in at about 34 lbs more than the legendary boxer. Logan Paul is the heaviest opponent Mayweather has ever faced in his entire career. However, the size advantage only matters so much when the gulf in skillset is as massive as that between Mayweather and Paul.
The fight was predictable, to say the least. Everybody knew Mayweather was going to dance around the ring, avoid getting hit and keep tagging Paul with some good, hard shots during the fight. Logan Paul initially did a good job of using his size to manhandle his opponent and keep him at bay using a long jab.
Towards the end of the first round, he burnt his gas tank by unleashing a flurry of wild strikes on Mayweather, but how many of those strikes hurt 'Money' is questionable. To be fair, Logan Paul had his moments in the fight but they came sporadically at best. Mayweather displayed some nice footwork and efficient striking to outclass his opponent throughout the fight.
Since this was an exhibition match, there weren't any judges scoring the bout and an official winner wasn't announced. However, if you take a look at the stats, it is obvious that Floyd Mayweather would have bagged another comfortable decision victory had the fight been scored.
Despite Floyd Mayweather dominating the contest, social media was abuzz with many fighters, analysts and fans claiming that Logan Paul outperformed Mayweather in the bout. Clearly, everyone was expecting a stoppage win for the 50-0 boxer, and 'The Maverick' shocked the world by going the distance with Floyd.
Following the fight, former UFC stalwarts like Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo heaped praise on Logan Paul and claimed Mayweather's skills are on the wane. Logan Paul himself, as well as his brother Jake, also claimed that the former beat Floyd Mayweather on the night.
Logan Paul finds himself in a win-win situation following the Floyd Mayweather fight
While it's clear that Logan Paul was outstruck throughout the fight, let's see why the entire combat sports community is praising him for his performance against Mayweather. Mayweather was never known for his knockout prowess and bagged many decision wins over the years.
He is a master of defensive boxing and that didn't change against Logan Paul. Mayweather managed to avoid getting tagged by any heavy strikes from Paul and as the fight went on, he took complete control. However, due to the disadvantage in reach and size, Mayweather did have some difficulty in beating up Paul the way he would have wanted to.
Logan Paul also showed some experienced grappling skills during the fight and didn't allow Mayweather to cause too much damage. Mayweather even acknowledged the same in the post-fight interview, claiming Paul surprised him:
"He's a tough, rough competitor. It was good action. I was surprised by him tonight. A good guy. Even though he doesn't have much experience, he knew how to use his weight and he knew how to tie me up tonight," said Mayweather.
The fact that people are making a big deal out of Logan Paul going the distance is because this isn't a typical boxer vs. boxer fight. Paul is essentially an internet personality, so it is a huge deal for him to stand toe to toe with arguably the greatest boxer ever for eight scheduled rounds.
Logan Paul took some good shots but came out looking fine and didn't even suffer a cut during the fight. This proves that he might be inexperienced but has the heart of a fighter and does know a thing or two about boxing. To add to that, Paul is said to have made millions from the fight and that big paycheck has grabbed a lot of eyeballs in the combat sports community.
No matter who he fights next, there will be a lot of attention surrounding Logan Paul's next matchup after this performance. Many UFC stars will also want to trade punches with him in hopes of a big pay-day. Logan's stock can only rise from here.
So, though not on paper, Logan Paul has surely still emerged as a winner from the Mayweather fight.
