A man with the nickname 'Money' has denied being motivated purely by cash
Floyd Mayweather says he turned down offers from seasoned boxers in order to secure a clash with YouTube star Logan Paul.
Since rising to social media stardom, Logan and his brother Jake Paul have since made the move into boxing.
Jake won his first two professional fights, and is set to go up against ex-UFC star Ben Askren on April 17th.
Logan, on the other hand, has had a less successful start to his in-ring career.
He made his boxing debut against fellow YouTuber KSI in a white collar fight which ended in a draw. His professional debut came in the rematch, which he lost via split decision.
In December 2020, it was announced that Logan Paul would go up against Floyd Mayweather in February 2021. The fight date was pushed back due to the ongoing impact of coronavirus, and is yet to be rescheduled.
The bout is still expected to go ahead, however, with both men set to net an eye-watering sum for stepping into the ring.
Speaking as a guest on The Disruptive Entrepreneur podcast, Mayweather said he has turned down lucrative offers from established figures in boxing to secure a bigger payday against Paul.
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He said: "I can fight a fighter and guarantee myself $35m. Or me and Logan Paul can go out and make nine figures - $100m or more."
The issue of YouTubers setting foot in a boxing ring has always divided opinion. Billy Joe Saunders said it is making a mockery of the sport and giving "novices a license to kill".
Mike Tyson, on the other hand, believes the money and publicity generated by the likes of Logan Paul is necessary to broaden the appeal of boxing so it can remain competitive with MMA.
Elsewhere in the interview with The Disruptive Entrepreneur, Mayweather denied being motivated purely by money.
"Just because I talk about money, it doesn't make me a bad person," he said.
"Money don't make me, I make money. I like to feed my family. We can't feed our family just saying, 'I love you.'"
