Ricky Hatton: Mayweather Is Damaging His Legacy With Logan Paul Bout
As we all know by now, Logan Paul will be facing perhaps the greatest boxer to ever do it, Floyd Mayweather Jr, on Sunday, June 6, 2021, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, live on Showtime PPV.
The event will be sold for $49.99 in the United States, and of course we already know the main event.
Paul versus Mayweather will be an eight-round exhibition affair with three minute rounds, no headgear, and 10 oz gloves. Doesn’t really sound like an exhibition does it?
However, should this bout go the distance, a winner will not be declared.
Former foe of Mayweather, Ricky Hatton, had the following to say in regards to this bout:
“I think Floyd Mayweather is damaging his legacy, his peers will be looking at him. Truth be known, though, Floyd doesn’t give a shit. He doesn’t care. He’s called himself ‘Money’ Mayweather for God sake, that tells you all you need to know!
“It is all about money with him. Me personally, I thought it was about the fans, the fans pay your wages. The fans deserved to be entertained. Floyd isn’t bothered as long as he gets money. It shows total disrespect to his peers and the other great champions of old.
“Of course, you go into professional boxing for money reasons, to provide a better living for your family and a better lifestyle for them and yourself. So of course, money plays a big part.
“But some things have to come before money, like legacy. How much money does he want? He has already secured his family’s future. The last few fights you want are the ones to secure your legacy.
“I haven’t seen Logan Paul box, I don’t know if he’s any good or how bad he is. I didn’t know who he was until a few months ago, until he started getting linked with all these fighters.
“What upsets me, as a boxer who loved and still loves this sport, I feel very proud of how hard I worked to get the opportunity to fight Floyd Mayweather.
“I beat Kostya Tszyu, who was the best in the light welterweight division. I beat Carlos Maussa, I beat Luis Collazo, I beat Juan Urango, I beat Jose Luis Castillo, that’s how I got my shot at Floyd Mayweather.
“He (Paul) has got a shot at him because he’s got 72-fucking million followers. And it pisses me off.
“Each to their own of course but I think if you asked this question to every former world champion, your Sugar Ray Leonard‘s, your Marvin Hagler’s, your Tommy Hearns’, your Julio Cesar Chavez’, your Lennox Lewis’, all of these, I think they would say the same.
“Fight fans save up hard-earned money to come and watch you, week in week out, flying over to Las Vegas and watch us. They’ve probably done overtime, extra jobs in order to come and watch you fight.
“Some of my fans are probably still paying off that Vegas trip. And I appreciate it still. But you don’t want to be saving up, travelling over there all for someone to rub it in your face.
“It seems like he [Mayweather] is rubbing it in everyone’s face. In the face of people who work 12 hours a day, seven days a week who can’t even afford a holiday.
“I think when you come from a sport like boxing where the fans are working class, they don’t want to be reminded of how much money you’ve got.”
Hatton would move up to welterweight (147 lbs) as the IBO & Ring Magazine light-welterweight champion (140 lbs) to take on IBO, IBA, WBC & Ring Magazine welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr back in December of 2007.
Hatton came in with a record of 43-0, while Mayweather came in with a record of 38-0, fresh off his split decision victory over Oscar De La Hoya. Mayweather would KO Hatton to defend his titles, before winning his next eleven-straight ahead of his retirement.
Now, Mayweather is still retired, but has decided to pursue yet another exhibition bout.
An interesting fact, Logan Paul is a smaller underdog than Conor McGregor was. Odds makers have Paul around +650, while they had McGregor around +950. Crazy right?
McGregor may be a great striker, a great boxer in particular, but Paul is so much bigger.
Against the best defensive fighter of all-time, it’s hard to see someone that much bigger not being able to hit him once, isn’t it? Not only that, not only does Mayweather need to keep from being hit, but he has to out-point Paul as well, right?
Whether it’ll be a good fight or not, one thing’s for certain, it’ll be very interesting to see.
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