Mayweather Calls Fight 'Legalized Bank Robbery,' Logan Paul Plans to 'Break the Simulation'

I get a lot of messages on social media that mention my reporting and contributions here at OutKick. I stick to presenting all known information and letting readers formulate an opinion based on that, but I grew up watching the Paul brothers. So, today, ahead of the Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul bout, I have some thoughts. 

Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather is a household name — he's the pay-per-view king. The 44-year-old has an unblemished record of 50-0 and last fought professionally in August 2017 when he won by TKO over mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor, who was making his boxing debut. Mayweather has truly lived up to his ‘Money’ nickname. In a list of the highest-grossing fights of all time published in June 2020, Mayweather’s name is in the top four of the six fights listed.

His fight against Logan Paul is set for this evening, Sunday, in Miami, and just 10 days ago, Paul didn't know the rules during an interview with ESPN.

"I don't know the rules," he said. "I think we're in 10-ounce gloves. I think no head guards. Yes, eight rounds, I believe."

To be clear, Paul is a content creator, not a boxer, the match isn’t sanctioned, and there won’t be a declared winner.

It's an exhibition and always has been. There will be a referee, but scores won’t be kept and no official decision will be given. The exhibition is set for eight rounds. Ten-ounce gloves will be used, and knockouts are legal.

Remember, Mayweather and Logan Paul -- not his younger brother, Jake Paul -- are set to face in the exhibition bout. Jake is the Paul brother who yells at Dana White, steals Mayweather's hat, and seems to have some beef with the UFC. He takes pride in attending UFC fights and crowds chanting “Fuck Jake Paul.” He loves the attention because people are saying his name, and it sells.  

The Paul brothers brand themselves as the ‘problem children’ and quite literally always have been. We're around the same age, so I've followed them on social media for as long as I can remember.

Both Paul brothers are "YouTubers," aka they create content for the internet to watch, but in my opinion, Logan Paul won this event the moment Mayweather signed the contract. Logan Paul may get more from actually "losing" because he can create content from that. Regardless of the outcome of the match, Logan Paul has a 50-0 former world champion in the ring and millions of followers ready to watch.

The Logan brothers found success on the now-defunct platform Vine, where they capitalized on their outrageous antics and bro-ish personalities. Jake Paul’s Vines can be seen here, while Logan’s Vines can be seen here.

In 2015, Logan Paul told Business Insider he wanted to be “the biggest entertainer in the world.” Jake told the New York Times Magazine that he wants to become a “Dr. Dre of social media.”

Jake had a recurring role on the Disney Channel sitcom Bizaardvark — a role which he got from his Vine popularity. His character was a kid who "created content" and performed dares given by his audience, but Disney fired him after the first season because he and his roommates ambushed a news crew with a t-shirt cannon.

Hollywood Reporter said the news crew was there to "investigate reports that Paul and his YouTuber housemates were making a nuisance of themselves, lighting fires in a drained swimming pool, mounting dirt-bike drag races outside their $18,000-per-month rented house."

Logan and Jake Paul have different ways of trying to maximize their reach and influence on the internet and on social media, both from each other and from the average social media personality. Their roots on YouTube and Vine really focused on pranks, drama, or lighting things on fire.

Although both brothers have evolved in ways, one key theme has stayed constant — the goal is to provoke some kind of response from viewers. It doesn’t matter if it pisses people off, if people find it disgusting or hilarious. They know that if they get a response — and I mean ANY response — people will repost and send it to their friends. This is content creation. 

Exhibit A: "Tomorrow I break the simulation and beat the greatest boxer in the history of the planet," Logan Paul said.

Simulation? Really? Or is that word intended to catch our attention, make us think, get us to speak about him and then pay for the fight?

In today's social media world, this sells. He made "simulation" a theme.

When Mayweather was asked about the fight during a press conference on Thursday in Miami Beach, he said he’s purely doing it to entertain the people. 

“I don’t look at it as a fight. I think my opponent looks at it as a fight,” he said, referring to Logan Paul. ”I look at it, for one night, I’ll be entertaining the people. I do it when I want to. We’re going to go out there and have fun Sunday and give the people what they want to see.”

What is each guy heading into the ring with, experience-wise?

I literally laughed out loud as I typed the heading for this section. I pictured Mayweather with all his previous belts and Logan Paul with his vlogging gear and an external hard drive or a memory card. I'm not sure what to expect — is there a chance he will do something like his brother, or is this purely for content?

Mayweather is famously 50-0 as a professional, with his last pro bout coming in August 2017 against UFC star Conor McGregor. His most recent fight was an exhibition victory against Tenshin Nasukawa in December 2018.

Logan Paul is 0-1 as a pro boxer, losing to English YouTuber KSI in November 2019. This will be his first exhibition bout.

What are they coming in at? 

Logan Paul came in 34.5 pounds heavier than Mayweather at Saturday’s weigh-in.

Mayweather, 44, stands 5-foot-8 with a 72-inch reach. He spent the latter part of his pro career as a welterweight, and he weighed in at 147 pounds before facing Nasukawa, but was 155 pounds at Saturday's weigh-in, the Athletic reports. 

Logan Paul, 26, stands 6-foot-2 with a 76-inch reach. He weighed 199.4 pounds against KSI but was down to 189.5 Saturday. He said on social media he will be fined $100,000 for every pound beyond 190 pounds for Sunday's fight.

Since the weigh-in, Logan has been tweeting, "my opponent small."

What are they hoping to leave with … 

For starters, the match isn’t sanctioned by the Florida State Boxing Commission — it is truly for entertainment. I’m all here for it. 

Mayweather expects to earn $100 million off Sunday's fight and said Thursday he has already made $30 million in the lead up, the Athletic reports. He has 7.8 million followers on Twitter and 26 million on Instagram. 

Paul hasn't mentioned his part of the earnings yet, but his net worth is estimated at $19 million, the Athletic reports. He has six million followers on Twitter and 19.5 million on Instagram, along with 23.1 million YouTube subscribers.

Mayweather tweeted a video on Saturday captioned: “When they ask why I’m having an exhibition with this YouTuber...," and in the video he says, “I believe in working smarter not harder. When it's something easy like this, a legalized bank robbery, I gotta do it. I have to do it.”

Are Logan and Jake Paul advocating for professional fighters? Better pay?

Short answer: who really knows. I'd like to think they are, but again, they are also profiting off the system they are trying to build. So, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here. Logan Paul tweeted Saturday that, regardless of what people think, fighters deserve to be paid. 

“egardless of whether people think what Jake and I are doing in combat sports is a 'gimmick,' THIS sentiment is very real and will hopefully make a lasting change in getting fighters fucking PAID,” he said in a tweet that shared a video of his brother.

In the video, Jake Paul can be heard advocating for UFC fighters and said the pay isn’t fair. 

“There’s a movement … it’s going to show fighters should be getting paid more,” he said. “The UFC fighters don’t have fair pay. Out of all of the sports, the percentage the owners get versus the athletes, they are the lowest.” 

Jake Paul went on to say that Dana White is taking fighters' money when he isn’t paying the fighters their fair share for “making the content” and “getting in the ring and risking their lives.” 

At UFC 261, Chris Weidman suffered one of the worst injuries in recent MMA history when he broke his leg just 17 seconds into his contest with Uriah Hall. Jake Paul questioned what the future looks like for Weidman, and asked how he provides for his family. 

“These fighters are risking their lives. You could quite literally die in the ring, and they need to be compensated more. I’m a big proponent of that movement and being in control,” he said. “Fuck that shit. Fuck Dana White.” 

How to watch Mayweather vs. Paul:

Showtime is charging viewers $49.99 on pay-per-view for the bout and the main card is expected to start at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday. 

The main event will be preceded by three fights, including former NFL wide receiver Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson facing Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship veteran Brian Maxwell in an exhibition.

I think Logan Paul made his own hype video, so if you want to watch that: