Former pro boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to fight YouTuber Logan Paul in exhibition match

The match is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2021.

Nigel Chua | December 07, 2020, 11:52 AM

Floyd Mayweather Jr., a retired professional boxer, will take on YouTuber Logan Paul in an exhibition match next February.

Mayweather, 43, announced the match in a post on his Instagram page on Dec. 6.

The former world champion made his professional boxing debut in 1996, when Paul, now 25, was just 1 year old.

Mayweather's 19-year career as a boxer included being world champion in five different weight classes before retiring undefeated in 2015, with a record of 49 wins, no draws, and no losses.

He came out of retirement for a match against mixed martial arts (MMA) world champion Conor McGregor in 2017, which he won by technical knockout (TKO) in the 10th round.

Paul, on the other hand, has competed in one professional boxing match in Nov. 2019, where he lost to fellow YouTuber KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji.

But while Mayweather has the weight of experience on his side, Paul will likely have an advantage in terms of literal weight.

In Mayweather's 2017 fight against McGregor, the pair competed in the light middleweight class, and had to weigh in at 154 lbs (69.9 kg) or lighter.

Paul, on the other hand, last competed in the cruiserweight class, weighing in at 199.4 lbs (90.45 kg), just under the 200 lbs limit — according to Sky Sports.

Professional boxing and YouTubers

The concept of a YouTube boxing match has certainly not seen universal support, with Paul's match against KSI being labelled as a "money grab" by some.

But former heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson has come out in support of them, saying that YouTubers such as Jake Paul (Logan Paul's brother) should be recognised for their role in revitalising the sport, in a recent Nov. 29 interview.

"Boxing owes these guys some kind of... they owe these YouTube boxers some kind of respect. They should give them some belts because these guys made boxing alive."

Tyson said that boxing was "a dying sport" before the YouTube boxing matches.

"UFC was kicking our butt, and now we've got these YouTube boxers boxing... boxing is going back [up] thanks to the YouTube boxers," Tyson said.

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Top image via Floyd Mayweather on Instagram