UFC president Dana White has slammed the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and YouTube personality Logan Paul as a damning indictment of the state of boxing.
On Sunday, Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) announced on Instagram that an exhibition bout against Paul will take place on February 20, 2021.
"Super exhibition, Feb. 20, 2021," the caption under a split image of he and Paul read.
White, however, swiftly questioned the wisdom of holding a bout pitting one of the greatest boxers in history against a YouTube sensation with the grand total of one professional bout under his belt.
"When people ask me what's the state of boxing right now, that's where it's at," White said as he appeared on Nelk Boys on Sunday night.
"Didn't that kid [Paul] get beat up by the f*****g video game kid from England [KSI] and now he's going to fight Floyd Mayweather?"
As referenced by White, Paul's only professional fight came against fellow YouTuber KSI last year with the latter winning by split decisions.
The duo had first fought in an six-round exhibition bout in 2018, which was declared a majority draw.
Even the most ardent of fans of Mayweather may find it difficult to disagree with the UFC boss and justify the merits of the upcoming fight.
While Paul has a loss in his solitary professional bout, Mayweather was undefeated in his 50-fight career, winning 27 of them by KO and securing 15 world titles across five divisions.
The American hasn't fought professionally since retiring for a third time after defeating UFC star Conor McGregor in 2017 and will turn 44 four days after the fight, but he's unlikely to be troubled by Paul who is 18 years his junior.
Mayweather isn't new to bouts of dubious merits. His fight against McGregor saw him pocket more than $100 million but was widely questioned, as the UFC Lightweight champion had never fought professionally fought a boxer before.
In 2018, a year after defeating McGregor, Mayweather made $9 million from his exhibition against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.
Paul, who has 22.5 million followers on his YouTube channel, has previously called out Mayweather and the two have exchanged barbs on social media.
The fight, however, will do little to dispel the feeling boxing is increasingly lending itself to be little more than a money-spinning machine. Last month, former NBA player Nate Robinson needed medical treatment after being knocked out cold by Paul's brother, Jake.
Robinson, who was making his boxing debut, was floored twice and twice got back up, before suffering a brutal knockout in the second round.
Meanwhile, Mike Tyson returned to the ring after 15 years to fight Roy Jones Jr., in an exhibition bout pitting together two fighters with a combined age of 105.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he was a news and business reporter at International Business Times UK. Dan has also written for The Guardian and The Observer.
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