MIAMI BEACH, Florida – Logan Paul laughed.
How else was he supposed to react when his manager, Jeff Levin, asked him for the first time eight months ago about fighting Floyd Mayweather? Paul, after all, lost his only professional fight to another YouTube star, essentially has no boxing background and walks around more than 50 pounds heavier than Mayweather.
Nothing about Levin’s question made any sense to a skeptical Paul. Somehow, some way, however, the 26-year-old Paul is about to step into the ring with the best boxer of this generation Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
The strange nature of how far he has come in such a short amount of time isn’t lost on the polarizing Paul, who reportedly has been guaranteed $20 million for his eight-round exhibition with Mayweather.
“I laughed,” Paul recalled Thursday during a press event at the venue once known as the Versace Mansion. “I laughed. It was my manager. We were in my garage. I’ll never forget. He goes, ‘Yo, would you fight Floyd Mayweather?’ I laughed, like everyone. You saw the headline and you [said], ‘Ha, ha. That’s f------ stupid! That’ll never happen!’ I said that to him. [Then] I said, ‘For sure. I’ll do it.’
“And that was eight months ago. Eight months ago, and then fast forward and I think it’s happening. I think so. For the longest time, I didn’t believe it. Until I’m in the ring with him, it seems surreal. It seems too good to be true. You know, if something’s too good to be true, then it probably is.”
The 44-year-old Mayweather, who went 50-0 and won world titles in five divisions during his 20-year career, and Paul are scheduled to weigh in Saturday afternoon at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The William Hill sports book lists Mayweather as an 8-1 favorite versus Paul, despite that Paul stands seven inches taller than him and might out-weigh Mayweather by 50-plus pounds.
Whatever transpires in their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event, Paul considers this incredible windfall a victory.
“I already won,” Paul said. “That’s the danger of this fight. I step in the ring with Floyd, like, I won. You lost, Floyd. You got finessed. Congratulations.”
Mayweather-Paul will headline Showtime Pay-Per-View’s four-fight card at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins. The event is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. EDT and the suggested retail price is $49.99.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.