Floyd Mayweather says Logan Paul was fighting to survive

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul went all eight rounds, which surprised many. Mayweather addressed his performance after the fight.

The Showtime pay-per-view exhibition boxing bout between retired legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. and YouTuber Logan Paul went the distance on Sunday, June 6. Paul didn’t look great, but he outperformed expectations by lasting with Mayweather.

Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) isn’t known as a knockout puncher, but many expected him to stop a novice boxer, even at 44-years-old. Mayweather addressed his performance during the post-fight press conference.

“I wanted to give people a show, and he was fighting to survive, as you guys can see,” said Mayweather. “Every time he would punch, he would clinch.”

Mayweather placed the lackluster result on Paul, who did hold for much of the fight. Mayweather believes that Paul’s wrestling background allowed him to grapple effectively and finish the fight on his feet.

“His background is wrestling if I’m not mistaken,” said Mayweather. “He was good at tying me up.”

Mayweather also mentioned that Paul’s size helped him to endure the rigors of the fight.

Floyd Mayweather pointed to Logan Paul’s holding, size, and age as factors for not scoring the knockout

Jake Paul exclaimed during the fight that he thought his brother was winning the fight. Mayweather was asked about his opinion.

“For me to be retired, to be a grandfather, and to come have some fun with a guy that’s in his 20s when the money comes, we’ll see who’s the real winner.”

Mayweather believed the event was a success and that it will pull strong pay-per-view numbers. He expects to make a lot of money from this contest, and he probably will, but Showtime’s app and streaming service faltered throughout fight night.

Mayweather reiterated that he would never fight professionally again.

“Absolutely not,” said Mayweather when that question came up. “I’m retired from the sport of boxing.”

It remains to be seen if Mayweather will take part in another exhibition. Mayweather vs. Paul didn’t live up to expectations, but it definitely got them paid. If there’s lots of money to be made, Mayweather could be enticed back into the ring, but the demand to see him fight might be dwindling.