We are truly living in a different time and age. The gatekeepers are out. All you need nowadays is to become famous and you can leverage that fame into riches.
We just witnessed that tonight with the bout between undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather and YouTuber Logan Paul. The fight lasted eight rounds and weirdly, there weren’t any judges to decide. That means there was no clear winner (although it was clear that Mayweather was kidding around the ring).
With Mayweather coming out of a 5-year retirement and a clean record to his name, it looks almost comical to watch him fight a famous internet prankster. It would’ve been a fight if he was fighting another boxing champion like Manny Pacquiao.
However, Mayweather keeps proving to the world that sports these days isn't about competition and sportsmanship. It's now all about money. With an opportunity for a big payday, the flashy cash-flaunting Mayweather could never pass up on this.
Mayweather himself said on a show in May;
“I would [rather] have the currency than the legacy, my legacy is already engraved in stone.”
He further revealed that he made over $650 million dollars in the fights between Manny Pacquiao and Conor MacGregor. These two fights alone pushed his net worth to over $1 billion dollars.
Logan Paul, on the other hand, has proven that anyone can leverage their fame to untold riches. He currently has over 66 million followers on social media and is already a multimillionaire at age 26. With a net worth estimated at $25 million dollars, his financial future clearly is bright.
Pay-per-view revenue was estimated to reach $180 million and Mayweather gets 50% of that figure. Logan Paul gets a 25% share.
While it is clear that Mayweather could never stain his record for a real boxing match, critics keep asking if he’s killing boxing’s reputation with ‘exhibition games.’
The fight ended, with boos coming from the crowd as they expected to see a real show. Instead, all they got was a light sparring session with Mayweather unwilling to risk ruining his flawless record by opening himself up to a lucky punch.
One thing remains clear, sportsmanship is dead. It's all about the money now. And no matter what anyone says, both Mayweather and Logan Paul are laughing their way to the bank.