Floyd Mayweather apparently likes the idea of trading blows and making money with another brother of Paul.
The Hall of Fame fighter offered something of a compliment to the YouTuber-turned-boxer over the weekend ahead of Mayweather’s scheduled exhibition fight against RIZIN mixed martial artist Mikiru Asakura on Sunday in a pay-per-view fight at Saitama, Japan.
Mayweather, 45, praised Paul for his business prowess but warned the 25-year-old would be in trouble once he fought a “real fighter.” The brash and controversial Paul, who sports a record of 5-0, with four knockouts, has made a name for himself in boxing by producing standout knockouts over non-boxers (two former MMA fighters in Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, twice , a former NBA player in Nate Robinson and fellow YouTuber in AnEsonGib).
Mayweather fought Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, last year in an exhibition fight distributed on a Showtime pay-per-view basis. In the run-up to that event, Mayweather, who retired in 2017 after defeating Conor McGregor, was involved in a fight with young Paul, who snatched his hat from him.
“Jake Paul, right now, what he’s doing is good for what he’s doing,” Mayweather said in an interview with TMZ. “But once he fights a real, real fighter, it’s going to be bad. But there is one thing I like about him: he is selling it and making a lot of money. He is entertaining. I like him.
“As long as he continues to fight the MMA guys and YouTubers, he will continue to look good and shine. But once he fights a real fighter, a real fighter who can really fight, he’s not going to be that good.”
Mayweather mentioned that Paul once said he wasn’t interested in “exhibition fights”, leading him to suggest that they can fight for real; however, the fight would have to be fought closer to the weight Mayweather currently fights at rather than at cruiserweight. the weight class in which Paul currently fights. Paul is scheduled to face possibly the toughest opponent of his career in former MMA legend Anderson Silva on October 29 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
“I think he (Paul) was doing a podcast session one time, and he talked about it and said, ‘I don’t want to do an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather.’ He said, ‘I’m just doing real fights,’” Mayweather recalled. “And of course I can’t go up much in weight, but I’ll fight him in a real fight at the weight I’m at.”
Shortly after Mayweather’s comments circulated, Paul responded on Twitter, saying he would knock out the former champion in six rounds and pleaded with Showtime Sports boss Stephen Espinoza to make the fight. Paul’s last two fights were televised on Showtime, and Mayweather has a close and longstanding relationship with the network.
“My brother took you away. I would finish you in 6. @StephenEspinoza
please make this fight happen so i can send him to a proper retirement,” Paul wrote.
Mayweather also ridiculed Paul for suggesting he can beat Canelo Alvarez, the Mexican superstar and current undisputed 168-pound champion. Álvarez easily lost to Mayweather in his record-setting pay-per-view fight in 2013.
“He’s going to get screwed over by Canelo,” Mayweather said. “There is no way. It will be demolished. For what he’s doing, as long as they keep getting YouTubers and they keep putting him out there with the MMA guys which is a bit of a stretch, he’s going [to] keep shining. So, I’m proud of him. I’m not really upset.
