Fight week gets crazier by the minute – now even respected boxing analyst Teddy Atlas fears Floyd Mayweather COULD BE IN DANGER against YouTuber Logan Paul Sunday in Miami.
The sport’s weirdest ‘fight’ of the year so far might now be the most eagerly-awaited as social media sensation Paul meets one of the greatest to ever lace ’em up.
Mayweather is a -900 betting favorite (bet365), but earlier this week he was -1600. The money meanwhile is coming for Logan – he’s now +500 from +700. Some offshore bookies offer Floyd at -700.
Earlier this week Mayweather described the whole thing as “a legalized bank robbery,” adding “I gotta do it”. The stats back up that theory – it might be the biggest mismatch in boxing betting history.
- Floyd is 50-0 with a ton of future Hall of Famers on his list of victims
- Paul is 0-1 and his only fight so far was against fellow YouTuber KSI
Atlas though looks at some of the other factors at play here, namely physics and the passage of time. Floyd is a 44-year-old grandfather who has not fought properly some four years. Paul is just 26.
Floyd cannot according to the rules of the fight come in at more than 160lbs, but Paul’s limit is 190. So Mayweather is likely giving up 18 years and 30lbs on fight night. This is where it gets shaky according to Atlas.
Teddy Atlas on Mayweather vs Paul
Speaking on his ‘The Fight with Teddy Atlas’ podcast, he said: “There could be danger here for Floyd. When does Floyd not become Floyd? When does he cease to exist. When is it not Floyd any more? I think people are forgetting that.
“He’s 44 years old, he hasn’t fought for four years. He had some exhibition two years ago in Japan – I don’t even know if it was real. He got paid a lot of money for 139 seconds – a little longer than Spinks lasted with Tyson – with a 20-year-old kickboxer. And again I don’t even know if it was real. He could have got out of the shower and did that.
“I respect Floyd a lot. he’s a smart man who picks his spots. He knows how to make money, he was a great fighter, a great defensive fighter. Tremendous counter puncher – all those things. And he deserves to make whatever the market will pay him. He took the risks.
“But at what point is he not Floyd? One day he’s gonna get in that ring with whoever he’s in there with, and he’s not gonna be Floyd any more. I don’t know if that day comes now, but I know he’s giving up 30lbs, and in with a guy who takes the sport seriously.
Atlas credits Paul brothers
“The Paul brothers, whatever you want to say, they respect the sport enough to learn it. To go out there, train diligently, learn what they can learn the right way by people who can teach them the right things. And they put the time into respecting the sport and I give them credit for that. Lot of people hate these guys – I give them credit for that.
“They’ve got followers on YouTube and they’ve been smart enough to build it into this, why not, it’s the American way. It’s up to people to buy it – they’re not putting a gun to your head.
“But I do get concerned when a great fighter like Floyd that represents boxing the way he does, and where a lot of people forget that he’s 44, forget that he’s giving up 30lbs, forget that he hasn’t fought basically for four years in a real fight. They still think it’s the same Floyd and it’s not.
Floyd like David Copperfield
“I don’t know what version of Floyd it’ll be, but I know that it becomes a slippery slope when you keep doing this game. It’s kinda like the great magician. He disappears on you, he always was. He makes your punches disappear. He’s a David Copperfield – he makes punches go away.
“But when does he become that old magician who isn’t that guy any more? And the cards are falling out of his sleeve and the tricks aren’t working any more. When does he become that guy, I don’t know if he does. But he could – it’s possible.
“Let’s give it the earnest breakdown for the fans. He’s (Floyd) in there with a guy who has never won a fight. He’s 0-2, he’s got a draw and a loss to another fellow YouTuber. But he’s a big 190lb strong guy. He can punch a little bit – he does know some basics. He knows how to jab, he knows how to use his legs and stand the right way on the outside.
“Here’s the thing nobody’s thinking about. Even with these kind of fights that old axiom makes sense, it’s true. Styles make fights. Floyd Mayweather is not a go getcha guy. He’s a counter puncher, he’s a magician. He’s a guy that beats you to the punch, a guy who times you. He needs co-operation, guys come after him, it’s like going into a meat grinder.
“He makes you miss, he spits you out. He punches back, he counters. Great speed, all these things. He’s a 44-year-old counter puncher.
“He’s gonna fight a bigger, longer, taller, physically stronger guy who’s gonna stay on the outside, who knows enough how to jab and move around. And it’s only eight rounds. These things mean something.
“He’s gonna move around on the outside with his jab. And that’s not Floyd’s game. Floyd’s game is to counter-punch, to outbox you, to outscore you. Not seek and destroy.
“If this is (Mike) Tyson in there, forget about the weight, just the style. If this was Mike Tyson fighting this guy Paul, Paul gets knocked out in about 30 seconds, or as long as it takes to walk out there and say hello. Bang!”
Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Logan Paul takes place Sunday June 6 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. It will be screened live on Showtime pay-per-view at $49.99. Coverage starts 2000 ET/1700 PT.