Miami, Fl – Tonight, one of the greatest fighters of all time will enter the ring in a fight few saw coming. Four years after his retirement, he’ll return to take on the most bizarre opponent of his illustrious 20-year career. Giving up 34 pounds and approximately 4 inches in height is a mountain most who love to hate him would have loved to see him scale in a real fight. Sadly for them, fortunately for him, it’s nothing more than a glorified exhibition.
Fans, talent, and media around the sport have offered a mixed bag of opinions on the fight. Those thoughts range from “good entertainment” to “bad for our sport”. All of these opinions are well documented, and like always, the truth lies somewhere squarely in the middle.
Is it a bad reflection on the sport that a Youtuber will sit center stage against the most elite fighter of his era in a primetime slot on a Showtime PPV card that will be televised around the world? Perhaps. Is it a good situation for the sport, knowing that every casual fan tuning in to see Logan Paul face the best will watch and once again be reminded how cool it is to see two men slug it out – which ultimately converts to more buys and exposure? Perhaps.
When we look at the full spectrum, it all boils down to this: Even those who don’t feel a desire to shell out the $50 to see it will wait for the Youtube video clip and the plethora of headlines, meme’s, and social media post to see what happened. Not paying top dollar to see it live isn’t a defeat for the fighters on the card. The attention gained by website traction in the aftermath of this fight is in fact a victory.
Anyone upset with Floyd Mayweather Jr. taking this fight need not look any further than his 2017 retirement from the sport. Prior that point, we saw him face the best talents of the era before his (Oscar De la Hoya and Shane Mosley), the best talent of his own era (Cotto and Pacquiao), as well as the best talent of the era to follow his (Canelo).
He shattered the record books and did things his way. After a perfect 20 years that consisted of 50 perfect fights on 50 perfect nights, the answer to the question asking “WHY” he’s taking this fight is simple. BECAUSE HE CAN! He earned it! You may not order it, but every website in the sport that you read from will make sure you wish you did. You’ll be up late, searching for post-fight coverage like any other fight. Know what that means?
The ‘Money’ Man just had ANOTHER Perfect night, and I’m afraid he got you…..AGAIN!
(Vivek “Vito” Wallace can be reached at 954.770.9807, or vivekwallace1251@gmail.com. You can follow his work here on boxing247.com or in his daily social media fight threads on FB)