Why was the Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul fight delayed?
After the fight's original February date was postponed, Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul will eventually lock gloves this Sunday, 6 June.
Former champion Floyd Mayweather is coming out of retirement for a second time to face boxing newcomer Logan Paul in an exhibition fight on 6 June.
Undefeated Mayweather goes into the fight with an impeccable 50-0 record, while YouTube star Paul has one fight and one defeat to his name as a pro boxer.
The hotly anticipated exhibition fight was originally scheduled for February. However, on 22 January, news of the bout’s cancellation was accidentally broken by Paul's coach, Kevin Moore, in an Instagram post. After the post was promptly deleted, rumours began circulating that the fight had been postponed due low PPV numbers.
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Mayweather vs Paul: February fight cancelled due to covid
However, Paul later debunked those rumors on his podcast, Impaulsive, where he explained that the real reason for the bout’s postponement was due to “covid and business complications”, adding that “there are a lot of hoops to jump through” when scheduling a fight with boxer of Mayweather’s status.
Regarding the rumours on low PPV uptake, Paul stated: "Easy with the rumors that there's no interest. I do feel the need to say that this fight broke every single combat sports record for pre-sale PPV numbers. Shattered. So I don't want to get the narrative twisted."
Paul also revealed that he had been aware of the delay for some time before his coach’s Instagram post. "We knew it was going to be pushed for a minute now. Covid, some business complications is what I can say. Fight's still happening,” he said.
Mayweather expected to defeat Paul easily
And the fight is indeed still happening as Paul and Mayweather prepare to lock gloves this Sunday, 6 June at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
While Paul is looking to put a stain on Mayweather’s impeccable record, commentators believe his chances of doing so are slim to none.