Floyd Mayweather

Oscar De La Hoya is thinking big as he embarks on an exhibition comeback experiment. 

The 48-year-old Californian is already slated to face Vitor Belfort on September 11, 2021. After that, however, he wants one more exhibition followed by a shot at either Canelo Alvarez or Floyd Mayweather. 

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 @Canelo.”@MikeTyson @OscarDeLaHoya @HenryCejudo #Hotboxin pic.twitter.com/JA972BWxM5

— Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson (@hotboxinpodcast) July 7, 2021

"This might be my fighter juices flowing again," De La Hoya told Mike Tyson on his Hotboxin' podcast. The former middleweight star added that when he gets back in the ring for real he's looking for a 12-round bout. 

De La Hoya and Mayweather already met once in 2007 for the WBC light middleweight belt. The result was the most lucrative boxing match ever at the time, generating more than $130 million as Mayweather took a split decision victory (113-115, 116-112, 115-113) to keep his undefeated record intact. 

A rematch was widely discussed to take place in 2008, but Mayweather's retirement ended those hopes. De La Hoya would go onto defeat Steve Forbes via unanimous decision before losing to Manny Pacquio in 2008. De La Hoya retired a year later with a record of 39-6 (30 KOs). 

The Golden Boy has never faced Canelo, but has a direct line to him if De La Hoya wants to schedule a fight. De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions rostered Alvarez until November 2020 when he was released following a breach of contract settlement.

If De La Hoya's matchup against Belfort goes well—and if a second exhibition takes place—look for De La Hoya to start seeking out a return to pro boxing in a major way. Whether or not Mayweather or Alvarez would accept the challenge remains to be seen. 

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn unloaded on last weekend's Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul boxing exhibition on Thursday.

In an interview with iFL TV (h/t TMZ Sports), Hearn said: "Absolutely f--king horrendous. I'm allowed to give my opinion. It was absolute dog s--t."

The fight, which pitted a legendary undefeated boxer in Mayweather against a YouTube star in Paul, was an eight-round exhibition that went the distance and had no winner since there were no judges on hand.

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While Mayweather vs. Paul didn't resemble a true boxing match by most measures, the combatants seemingly made a smart financial decision.

Mayweather told TMZ Sports he made a guaranteed $30 million for the fight with the potential to make nine figures based on pay-per-view buys. Paul told TMZ Sports he could make up to $20 million.

Hearn called the exhibition "sad," but he didn't blame Mayweather for taking what amounted to easy money.

Instead, Hearn called for promoters to put on better legitimate fights in order to erase the need for similar exhibitions in the future: "If we don't make good fights, you're going to see more and more of this. We have to save boxing. ... No more s--t fights for great money."

Mayweather, who owns a 50-0 record as a professional, likely could have stopped the fight at any time if he wanted to against a novice fighter with just one official bout on his record prior to Sunday's contest at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Instead, Mayweather stretched it out and allowed it to go the distance in an apparent effort to give fans their money's worth.

Whether fans were satisfied or not is up for debate, but all signs point to more of these celebrity-based fights happening in the future.

Paul's brother, Jake Paul, has generated a ton of interest with his fights against former NBA guard Nate Robinson and former UFC fighter Ben Askren. He is set to fight again in August when he faces another former UFC star in Tyron Woodley.

Meanwhile, boxing seems to be somewhat lacking in terms of star power among its actual athletes, especially with Mayweather retired.

Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are relatively big names, and Manny Pacquiao is set to return in August against Errol Spence, but promoters are struggling to put together true superfights capable of putting boxing back at the forefront of the sports conversation.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul drew around 1 million pay-per-view buys on Showtime, according to Sportico.

That figure would correlate to more than $50 million in PPV revenue alone before the live gate revenue is calculated from Hard Rock Stadium.

"Perhaps equally important for Showtime, Sunday was the network’s biggest day of new subscriptions since its Showtime Streaming Service launched in 2015, according to the person, who was granted anonymity because the numbers are private," the report said.

Sportico called the PPV buys a "strong number" but didn't indicate whether it came in above or below what the involved parties were expecting. 

It would seem to be toward the lower end considering Jake Paul and Ben Askren were projected to have between 1.2 million and 1.6 million buys for their April fight, per MMA Fighting's Damon Martin.

Josh Peter of USA Today reported Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. eclipsed 1.6 million for their exhibition last November as well.

Sportico wrote the Mayweather is in line to collect at least $35 million between the PPV earnings and his $10 million purse. He still has a long way to go to reach the $100 million he told TMZ Sports he thought he could max out at from Sunday's event.

The show was a big moneymaker for the two names at the top of the card, but it doesn't appear to have broken the bank in historic proportions.

YouTube star Jake Paul continues to celebrate ripping the hat off Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s head during a May 6 press conference with the creation of a diamond pendant to mark the occasion.

TMZ Sports reported Wednesday that Paul, who previously got a tattoo the reads "gotcha hat," enlisted the services of Suny The Jeweler at Oxford Diamonds in Atlanta for his new bling:

https://twitter.com/TMZ_Sports/status/1402583506421702656

The pendant includes an estimated 20 carats of VVS diamonds and 80 grams of Italian gold with Paul's nickname, The Problem Child, on the back, per TMZ.

His encounter with Mayweather came during a media event hyping his brother Logan's fight with the former five-division world champion. That exhibition bout took place Sunday with Mayweather controlling the pace and the elder Paul brother throwing haymakers with no chance of landing against one of the greatest defensive boxers in history.

Mayweather told TMZ before that fight he was eyeing a potential clash with the other Paul brother next.

"After Logan, probably Jake. We don't know. We will see," he said.

Jake, who owns a 3-0 pro boxing record with his most recent win coming against veteran MMA fighter Ben Askren, is scheduled to face off with longtime UFC star Tyron Woodley in August.

Any fight against Mayweather would likely be categorized as an exhibition.

Both Mayweather and the Paul brothers are savvy businessmen. They have created a rivalry from scratch and interest in at least one, and potentially two, fights that'll make them all a lot of money with minimal risk on either side.

Paul's new diamond pendant is just another element of the feud.

UFC President Dana White said he would like to see boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. retire rather than do "silly" exhibition fights like Sunday night's clash with YouTube star Logan Paul.

"I would love to see Floyd retire," he told TMZ Sports in an interview released Tuesday. "... He's had an incredible career and to do these type of fights, it's silly."

White added he's not sure whether he'd be interested in seeing Paul enter the UFC Octagon.

"I don't know, man. I don't know," he said. "Here's the thing, not to say that I haven't taken a guy in that's been 0-0 into the UFC and done those types of fights before...I don't know."

Mayweather and Paul engaged in a mostly mundane exhibition bout. At one point, it appeared the undefeated former five-division world champion delivered a knockout blow to his YouTube counterpart but helped him stay on his feet to keep the fight going.

That's the difficulty with a legend like Mayweather trying to capitalize on the recent interest in high-profile exhibitions: If he's too dominant, the interest will fade. He needs to maximize the entertainment factor without quickly knocking out opponents who'd typically have no business in the ring with him.

White told TMZ he's not surprised about the recent trend of exhibition boxing matches between celebrities, aging fighters and former athletes—former NFL wide receiver Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson was also on Sunday's card.

"Imagine if Kim Kardashian wanted to fight Amanda Nunes ... how big do you think that fight would be?" he said. "What do you think Kim Kardashian would make if she fought Amanda Nunes ... probably more than anybody's ever made, ever."

As for a potential Mayweather retirement, that seems unlikely in the short term.

The 44-year-old Michigan native told TMZ last week he expected to earn upward of $100 million for this fight with Paul, and he was already eyeing a fight with Logan's brother, Jake, next time out.

"After Logan, probably Jake. We don't know. We will see," Mayweather said.

If he can generate nine-figure paydays for carrying celebrities through eight-round fights, that's a tough gig to step away from, especially since Mayweather is one of the greatest defenders in boxing history, which limits any potential downside from the bouts.

Meanwhile, it wouldn't be a surprise if the UFC tries to get in on the celebrity fight wave in the coming months. It's a potentially lucrative venture for everyone involved.

UFC President Dana White wasn't impressed with what he saw during Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul's highly publicized exhibition Sunday night.

White said in an interview for UFC Arabia their encounter "wasn't a f--king boxing match." (warning: video contains profanity):

Dana White reacts to last night's boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul and if it made him want to jump into boxing to fix the model.

Full interview for @UFCarabia coming soon. pic.twitter.com/U4yrDaDVZR

— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) June 7, 2021

"Like I said before, there's always going to be a market for that kind of stuff," he said. "There's always going to be people that are willing to put down $50 to watch that kind of stuff. ... Imagine if Kim Kardashian wanted to fight Amanda Nunes. How big do you think that fight would be?"

Nobody took Mayweather vs. Paul seriously from the moment it was announced. The former is the greatest boxer of his generation, and the latter is a famous YouTuber who lost to another YouTuber in his only professional fight to date.

As White noted, though, there will always be a market prepared to get invested in a sporting event that is primarily a commercial rather than an athletic endeavor.

Of course, there's some irony in White dismissing Sunday's event after he was a willing participant in Conor McGregor's loss to Mayweather in August 2017. Despite being one of UFC's biggest stars, McGregor didn't really have any business fighting Mayweather, and that cross-promotional fight was intended to generate as much money as possible for everybody involved.

White can argue McGregor is at least an experienced combat sports veteran. The former featherweight and lightweight champion also combined with McGregor to put on an entertaining main event.

That can't really be said of Mayweather vs. Paul because the gulf between the two was so wide. Mayweather's inability to put Paul down probably left a lot of fans feeling underwhelmed, too.

Count George Foreman among those who enjoyed Sunday's spectacle masquerading as a boxing match.

"The strangest thing is I'm starting to enjoy these exhibitions a lot more than the so-called competitive fights they put on because there's no entertainment value to those," Foreman said of the fight between Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather, per Josh Peter of USA Today. "Mayweather turned into the slugger, following the guy around. And [Paul] is as long as Wilt Chamberlain with that jab. It was exciting."

Sunday's fight was the latest in a list of boxing matchups that don't exactly look like the epic showdowns of the sport's past like the one between Foreman and Muhammad Ali.

Jake Paul defeated retired NBA player Nate Robinson and retired MMA fighter Ben Askren and is set to fight former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. Logan Paul fought YouTuber KSI and Mayweather. Even Mike Tyson returned for an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. well after the two were no longer in their prime.

To hear Foreman say it, the pattern isn't going to change.

"The fans are whispering in our ear, saying they love it," Foreman said. "Things are changing. If you don't change with it, you'll be left behind."

As for Sunday's fight, Mayweather and Paul technically battled to a draw during the eight-round bout that didn't have a declared winner since it was an exhibition. However, Mayweather largely controlled the proceedings and dodged all of Paul's biggest punches.

The exhibition boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul didn't yield an official winner, as the two went the distance in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday.

The lack of ringside judges and an announced winner if the fight went the full eight rounds were part of the stipulations attached to the bout. Even if a winner were announced, the fight would not go on either of their records because it was not sanctioned.

Still, the statistics paint a clear picture of who won:

Final punch stats from #MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/dIyjIwejye

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 7, 2021

Mayweather's trademark defense was still in pretty good shape. The 44-year-old proved to be much more difficult for Paul to hit than fellow YouTuber KSI, whom Paul faced in his only other professional boxing bout. Paul was only able to land 13 percent of his punches and was often left swinging at air:

Trading blows in round 4 💥👀 #MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/jrAn0Vzo9R

— All the Smoke Boxing (@atsboxing) June 7, 2021

Although there were no judges' scorecards, there was no shortage of people with opinions about the fight.

Boxing analyst Dan Rafael had Mayweather winning every round from the third on after his typical slow start:

Rd 8: Floyd 10-9. Floyd easy work. Gave away rd 1 and 2 and then won every second thereafter. 6-2 Floyd. They go the distance. No official scores will be rendered. #boxing #MayweatherPaul

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) June 7, 2021

Marc Raimondi of ESPN was also scoring the fight and gave Paul the seventh round, as well as the first two, to make his final card 78-74 in favor of Mayweather:

Round 7: It's getting chippy now. Lots of clinching. Some talking back and forth. But arguably Paul's best round since the seventh. He did land a left hand and this was the first round in awhile Mayweather didn't land much of significance. Paul 10-9.... https://t.co/vPLYiDbyMF

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) June 7, 2021

In a development that should surprise no one, Paul's younger brother, Jake Paul, had his sibling winning on the scorecards:

LOGAN PAUL

4 rounds to 2

Going into 7th

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 7, 2021

Jake is set to fight Tyron Woodley after recently defeating former UFC fighter Ben Askren, so it would make sense he saw his brother as the winner while they continue to try to grow their brand.

While Paul had the worst stats for the fight, it wasn't all bad. He acquitted himself nicely in terms of his ability to make it through all eight rounds, even if his cardio looked rough at times. Twitter didn't let that go without saying something:

Logan Paul between rounds. pic.twitter.com/ElzEByHpAV

— Phil Murphy © (@Phil_Sports) June 7, 2021

Update on Logan Paul:#MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/yUS7aw2Yf8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 7, 2021

Still, there were those who gave Paul props for lasting as long as he did without embarrassing himself:

Hats off to Logan Paul. He went 8 rounds with greatest boxer ever. Not a good look for Floyd.

— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) June 7, 2021

While boxing purists may not love the idea of professionals fighting celebrities, others were less concerned. The event was exactly what it promised to be: an exhibition with no real winner that brought attention to the sport:

#MayweatherPaul is in the books. And guess what? The sun will still rise in the morning and #boxing will survive just fine.

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) June 7, 2021

Paul was able to go the distance and even landed some offense. That will undoubtedly be spun to make him look like a legitimate boxer, and this likely won't be the last time he or his brother anchors a pay-per-view.

If the Twitter buzz is any indicator it did well in the pay-per-view market, and where there's money we are sure to see these guys in the mix.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul fought for a full eight rounds on Sunday night. However, with no judges scoring the bout, there was no official winner for the highly anticipated matchup at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

But Mayweather and Paul are both winners after an exhibition match that had plenty of people talking during the buildup to the event. And that's because both the undefeated former boxing champion and the YouTuber are coming out of the bout much richer.

The official payouts haven't been announced, but it's clear that both fighters are receiving a lot of money for their involvement in this spectacle.

Mayweather told TMZ Sports on Saturday that he had already made a guaranteed $30 million and that he could potentially have a nine-figure final payout, depending on the pay-per-view sales. Also, ESPN's Marc Raimondi shared on Sunday night that Mayweather said he made $30 million from the sponsorships on his trunks, but it's unclear if that's the same $30 million he was talking about before.

Paul told TMZ Sports last month that he could potentially make $20 million from the fight. Like Mayweather, it will all depend on how many people ordered the event through pay-per-view.

Considering it was so highly anticipated and heavily discussed on social media throughout the weekend, it seems likely that the event did a huge buyrate. And because of that, it's probable that there will be similar boxing events to come in the future.

There may not have been a knockout or an official winner, but the stats went in Mayweather's favor. The 44-year-old, who has never lost a match, landed 43 of his 107 punch attempts (40 percent), according to the ShoStats that were shown on the Showtime broadcast (h/t SportsCenter). Meanwhile, Paul landed only 28 of his 217 attempts (13 percent).

Could Mayweather have knocked out Paul if he had wanted to? Perhaps. There were many on social media who felt that way, and it's clear that most believe Mayweather was the winner of this bout. Of course, Mayweather has 50 professional matches under his belt while Paul had competed in only two matches (one amateur and one professional, both against fellow YouTuber KSI) heading into this event.

So it could be seen as a success for Paul that he lasted all eight three-minute rounds, considering things looked like a mismatch on paper. But the 26-year-old Paul also had a big size advantage, as he's 6'2" and weighed in at 189.5 pounds, while the 5'8" Mayweather weighed in at 155 pounds.

However, Mayweather can still box at a high level despite mostly being retired from competition.

"You've got to realize I'm not 21 anymore but it's good," Mayweather said after the bout, per the Associated Press. "He's better than I thought he was. Good little work. Tonight was a fun night."

Mayweather likely isn't done making money, and he may not be done with the Paul brothers, either. There has been speculation that Mayweather will later fight Jake Paul, although the younger Paul is set to box former UFC champion Tyron Woodley on Aug. 28.

Regardless of what Mayweather does next, he's not going to return to pro competition, and he's likely not done participating in these types of spectacles. As for Paul, it will be interesting to see what his next move will be and who he could potentially fight from here.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul made plenty of money for themselves in their eight-round exhibition match on Sunday night, but they probably didn't make too many lasting memories for those who watched the pay-per-view event. There was no knockout blow, no dramatic exchange of punches and, because it was an exhibition, no scorecards to declare an official winner. 

Instead, the match proved that Paul has a decent chin, Mayweather still has some solid reflexes and timing at 44 years of age, and both guys know how to promote a fight. 

The final punch stats tell pretty much the whole story. In his professional career, Mayweather was a defensive mastermind who left elite boxers punching at air. He routinely cut their connection rates in half. Paul had a size and reach advantage that Mayweather's pro opponents could only dream of, but he suffered a similar fate.

Mayweather landed when he wanted to, Paul had all kinds of trouble, and there wasn't much punching overall, per CBS Sports HQ: 

Here are the stats from the #FloydvsLogan bout 👀 pic.twitter.com/PSdeUqIIwI

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) June 7, 2021

Mayweather was content to dance around the first couple rounds, popping his novice opponent with some sharp lead left hooks every once in a while. Paul unloaded for one flurry at the end of the first, but Mayweather went into his shell and didn't seem any worse for wear once it was over.

Here's a look at one of those lefts, per Showtime Boxing:

SHEESH 😳 #MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/Xi7DvJbBcD

— All the Smoke Boxing (@atsboxing) June 7, 2021

Mayweather started to go on the offensive more in the third round. He was too quick and skilled for Paul, who had a roughly 40-pound weight advantage but none of the cleverness or precision necessary to disturb a top-tier pugilist. That resulted in Mayweather getting his power shots in, while Paul struggled to find the target.

Here's a look at some of Money's evasive maneuvers, per Showtime Boxing:

Can’t hurt what you can’t hit 🌪 #MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/YUVWXRGSSv

— All the Smoke Boxing (@atsboxing) June 7, 2021

To his credit, Paul hung in there. He wasn't ever truly wobbled, and he was smart to clinch and lean on Mayweather when he got winded. It didn't make for much of a spectacle, but it kept the 26-year-old social-media star on his feet.

Paul did get a couple of good punches that he later paid for in the fourth round, per Showtime Boxing:

Trading blows in round 4 💥👀 #MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/jrAn0Vzo9R

— All the Smoke Boxing (@atsboxing) June 7, 2021

After that, it was mostly Mayweather playing with his food. Paul at least had the conditioning to get through the rough patches and keep the former world champion honest. Mayweather, whether due to age or caution or both, didn't find a spot for a killshot. 

😨#MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/u2GLWLi32d

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 7, 2021

The final rounds saw Paul do more clinching than he did in the earlier rounds, while Mayweather made sure not to take any unnecessary risks. The fans at Hard Rock Stadium didn't seem to appreciate it much, but the combatants were fine with how it all played out.

Mayweather said he had fun, per The Athletic's Lance Pugmire:

"I had fun. You've got to realize I'm not 21 anymore. Great young fighter. String. Tough. He's better than I thought he was," Floyd Mayweather says. "I was surprised by him. Good fun. Good guy."

— Lance Pugmire (@pugboxing) June 7, 2021

In a similar vein, Paul just seemed happy to have gotten through it.

"It's an honor to grace the ring with him, this is the coolest thing ever," Paul said, per the New York Times' Emmanuel Morgan. "I'm glad I made it out. He's old but he's tough to hit."

In case you were wondering how current boxing pros felt about the spectacle, here's reaction from Canelo Alvarez and Jamel Herring:

🤦🏼‍♂️

— Canelo Alvarez (@Canelo) June 7, 2021

Me looking for a celebrity outside of boxing, to get filthy rich off of…#MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/u3J6EIY1JS

— Jamel Herring (@JamelHerring) June 7, 2021

So Mayweather, 50-0 as a professional, didn't knock out Paul (0-1, the lone loss coming against fellow Youtuber KSI). He will be fine with that, because he earned another big payday, and his overall reputation is intact. He could never risk a lucky punch from a lumbering opponent like Paul dropping him to the canvas, or worse, ending the fight. He has too much pride to let that happen.

Paul can try to drum up another controversy and sell another fight or two. He could perhaps end up on a card with his brother Jake Paul, who is 3-0 and is gearing up for a boxing match with MMA star Tyron Woodley. Mayweather can probably keep going down the exhibition route, as long as he finds the right opponent. At least there's still another Paul brother left for him to fight, and this one took his hat.