While certainly more spectacle than sport, the glorified exhibition that is known as Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul is gaining enough attention to be considered newsworthy. On Sunday June 6th at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida the two will indeed face off for an eight round boxing match.
Many argue that the money and interest being thrown at this event indicate we may be in the nascent stages of a new niche in combat sports. A senior circuit, akin to that found in golf and tennis, albeit far less competitive. Reports are that Mayweather will make $10 million guaranteed just for walking into the ring and he’ll pick up 50% of the pay-per-view dollars as well. His opponent Logan Paul will get $250,000 for being in attendance and 10% of the pay-per-view box office for his efforts. Further supporting the notion that this trend may have legs is the prior November 2020 match up between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones, a wildly successful event that sold more than 1.6 million pay-per-view buys according to Tyson’s Legends Only League. The 1.6 million pay-per-view buys ranks the fight among the top 10 combat sports events.
Yet, many also contend this is a mere circus show that denigrates the sport.There is no argument that can be made for Logan Paul having standing to be in the ring with a boxing hall of famer like Mayweather. Many, consider it an insult to professionals that ply their trade on a daily basis. Then there is the competitive aspect. It his highly unlikely that this will be a competitive affair. A notion Mayweather himself believes telling the New York Times, “It’s entertainment for people that want to be entertained, that’s been hurting for the last 18 months because of the pandemic”.
So, is it the dawn of a new niche in combat sports or a circus act? Guess we will have to see how events unfold tomorrow night to find out the answer. Mayweather vs. Paul is available on Pay-Per-View, June 6th at 8PM EST/5 PST. Until then, check out the preview here.