Looks like Logan Paul can punch. Or this is shameless YouTube propaganda
With Floyd Mayweather‘s bout against YouTuber Logan Paul finally confirmed for Sky Sports Box Office on June 6, people are once again waiting to see if influencer and celebrities are really taking the sport seriously, or if they are simply tourists.
One thing you have to give them is that they know how to generate buzz (it is their job after all): after a scrap between Mayweather and younger Paul brother, Jake, at the press event for the fight, footage has now been released of Logan sparring and some fight fans are taking notice.
First off, let’s quash that clickbait title: he doesn’t fight four people at the same time, he fights one of them at a time and, like him, they are not natural fighters. In fact, they are four NFL players known as the Gronkowski brothers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – so whilst they are not born boxers, they are professional athletes, at least.
It is worth reminding you that this was a video posted to his own YouTube channel, where the content is designed solely for self-promotion. We’re going to straight-up suggest this was staged but just make sure to take everything with a pinch of salt.
Nevertheless, the clip is doing the rounds on social media and whether or not this truly demonstrates a level of ability high enough to overcome Mayweather, plenty of people are impressed.
While most of the comments simply point out his sheer size compared to Floyd, some are giving him the credit for having much more skill than they expected. One commenter said: “Honestly you have to admit looking sharper than most would of thought if he can keep the power up for all rounds Floyd can only run so long looking good.”
However, some people exposed themselves simply by reacting, with another admitting, “I don’t know much about boxing at all but I reckon Logan has a pretty fine chance at the win against Floyd after seeing this. Good job and look forward to the next round.”
This is, arguably, part of the problem with this era of celebrity boxers: a large part of the audience they bring in – though it may be deemed good for business by some – are fans of these personalities and not the sport. Therefore, their expectations and discussions are often seen as ill-informed, with many saying that these new ‘fighters’ are detracting from the art altogether.
We’ve spoken to two of the biggest names in boxing over the past couple of weeks, Tony Bellew and Eddie Hearn. Needless to say, they don’t think this is the right direction for the sport either.
"There are journeymen who would wipe the floor with the two of them. These guys are not boxers."@TonyBellew thinks it's only a matter of time before YouTube boxers like @jakepaul and @LoganPaul get found out – and hurt pic.twitter.com/Io8OTbm2v7
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) May 14, 2021
https://www.instagram.com/p/COm9ji2g8td/
