New on Sports Illustrated: Logan Paul, Floyd Mayweather to Face Off at Hard Rock Stadium on June 6

-

Floyd Mayweather is coming out of retirement to face off against YouTuber and internet personality Logan Paul.

It's official—Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul will fight this year. 

The retired legendary boxer announced the exhibition match

via his Instagram on Tuesday, setting the date and location for June 6 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Mayweather posted, “JUNE 6, 2021!!!! #MIAMI Me and Logan Paul will be fighting at the Hardrock Stadium. @mayweatherpromotions @fanmio and @showtimeboxing have come together to bring an epic Event!!! Tickets will be going on sale next week."

Paul is 0-1 as a fighter, his lone bout a split decision loss to fellow YouTuber KSI.  But Paul weighed in at just under 200 pounds pre-fight—Mayweather was just 150 pounds in his final fight against Conor McGregor in 2017. 

The YouTuber also shared the news about the fight via his social media. He posted, “June 6 I break the simulation @mayweatherpromotions @fanmio and @showtimeboxing have come together to make boxing history!!!”

The 26-year-old is coming off of a stint on The Masked Singer, where he performed as Grandpa Monster. Paul was unmasked on March 31 after singing Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation."

Mayweather vs. Paul was originally set for Feb. 20 but was indefinitely postponed. The upcoming fight will air on Showtime pay-per-view. The Athletic previously reported that Mayweather can’t weigh more than 160 pounds for the fight, while Paul cannot weigh more than 190.

As Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim wrote in a February Daily Cover, "The Mayweather-Paul tale of the tape—comically ill-matched as it might be—is also the tale of the entire sport..."

"...Boxing, the most throwback of sports, has been thoroughly transformed, if not outright resurrected, by YouTube."

The announcement comes hours after brother Jake Paul tweeted at UFC's Kamaru Usman, saying "challenge accepted." 

More Boxing Coverage:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New on Sports Illustrated: NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 80 Prospect Rankings

-
Image
Ranking the top 80 players in the 2021 NBA draft with the NCAA tournament in the rearview. View the original article to see embedded media. With three months until draft night and the NBA’s regular season winding down , the league at large has begun shifting full focus to the off-season. Players have until May 30 to declare as early entrants for the draft, after which point the predraft process will open up in full, leading up to the combine and lottery at the end of June . Our Big Board is long overdue for an update, and fully expanded out to 80 prospects as we all attempt to make sense of the big picture moving forward. As usual, the Big Board is primarily based on my personal evaluations from both live viewings and on film, in many cases dating back several years. The rankings also incorporate feedback and opinions I glean from NBA executives, scouts, and others around the industry. This is not a mock draft, and team fit is not considered, but it is also intended to be somewhat
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: The Patriots’ Post-Brady Era Begins Now

-
Image
In Mac Jones, Bill Belichick drafted a Round 1 quarterback for the first time ever—and looks to usher in a return to dominance. Of course the first time Bill Belichick drafts a first-round quarterback, it’s one for whom he could get an unvarnished scouting report from good buddy Nick Saban —and without even having to do any draft-day maneuvering. Now, the post-Tom Brady era in New England really begins. The Patriots treated 2020 as something of a gap year, with a league-high eight opt-outs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a starting quarterback, Cam Newton, who didn't sign with the team until June. They were, for the first time in two decades, mediocre, but that 7–9 record bought them the ticket to a fresh start: the No. 15 pick, which they used Thursday night on Alabama QB Mac Jones. The oft-cited statistic that Belichick had never drafted a QB higher than pick No. 62—used on Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014—was inherently flawed, given that Belichick had Brady as a starter for 19 of
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Governors Unanimously Votes to Extend Mark Emmert’s Contract

-
Despite recent controversy, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to extend Mark Emmert's contract through 2025. The NCAA Board of Governors unanimously voted to extend president Mark Emmert's contract through Dec. 31, 2025. The news was announced Tuesday as a one-line news item buried within a larger update after the board's quarterly meeting. He's the fifth president in NCAA history and has been in the role since 2010. Emmert previously held high-ranking roles at Washington, LSU, Connecticut and Montana State. His base salary is reportedly $2.7 million.  Within the announcement, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to updating name, image and likeness rules. Dellenger: Inside the Hidden Industry of Name, Image and Likeness and the Changing World for College Athletes Emmert came under fire after disparities were shown between the men's and women's college basketball tournaments this year, specifically the weight room. Prior to the public backlash,
Read more