Floyd Mayweather Jr., widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all-time, will make his return to the ring this February after a two-year hiatus to take on Logan Paul in what may be, on paper, one of the most lopsided bouts ever.
Paul is a YouTube star whose career has been embroiled in numerous controversies, including but not limited to the filming of a dead body in Japan’s “suicide forest” — for which he is now being sued — the tasing of dead rats on video, and a history of racist and insensitive comments.
Outside the ring, Mayweather has an extensive record of being an abuser. In 2002, he was charged with two counts of domestic violence and one count of misdemeanour battery. Two years later, he was given a one-year suspended jail sentence, ordered to undergo counselling for “impulse control” and fined after being convicted of two counts of misdemeanour battery against two women. Throughout his in-ring career, Mayweather won 15 major world titles and retired with an undefeated 50-0 record.
Given the discrepancies in their pro-fighting experience, many in the boxing community believe Paul, whose boxing record stands at 1-0 after beating fellow YouTuber KSI in 2019, will lose handily — including the legendary Mike Tyson.
“Floyd’s gonna beat his f—ing a—,” Tyson told Paul during an appearance on Paul’s podcast, Impaulsive. “But it’s gonna be good! It’s gonna be good. He’s gonna fight back, though!”
.@MikeTyson was asked to give his prediction for the Floyd Mayweather vs. @LoganPaul fight… while sitting across from Logan Paul himself.
His answer… pic.twitter.com/D00B0QycwN
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 31, 2020
Tyson recently made his return to the ring as well after an absence of more than 15 years at the end of November, going to a draw against Roy Jones Jr., a former heavyweight champion. Mayweather’s last professional fight took place in August 2017 against UFC star Conor McGregor, which he won by tenth-round TKO.
“Lemme tell you something about Floyd,” Tyson said. “This what I don’t like about him either. Whatever you say about him, and it could be true, but he’s in that gym. He’s a rat. He retired but he stayed in the gym. He can’t help it — that’s his heroin. … He might let you hit him a couple times to make the show look good.”
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