Smirks show Mayweather and Paul was $150 million grand larceny

Photos from behind the scenes have exposed the “legalised bank robbery” Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul have got away with.

Floyd Mayweather never appeared to get out of first gear.

The easiest $150 million ever made.

Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul have gone the distance in an exhibition fight that left the crowd furious.

Photos of both fighters behind the scenes following the fight have also left the boxing community rolling its eyes with both Paul and Mayweather seen smirking contentedly as they walked out of the ring.

They each had millions of reasons to be happy with their night at the office, despite the fact their their so-called blockbuster fight descended into a farce with the crowd echoing chants of “boo” around Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

The luke-warm spectacle never really got going with the final three rounds ruined by an exhausted Paul’s tactics to turn the fight into a slow scrap.

Watch Mayweather v Paul for Bragging Rights on Foxtel’s Main Event, Monday 7 June at 10am AEST. ORDER NOW >

No official winner will be announced.

The YouTube star will always have the bragging rights of being able to say he went eight rounds with the greatest of all time, despite being outclassed for the final six rounds of the contest.

Mayweather, 44, dominated the fight with calculated shots, but never rocked his opponent or appeared on the verge of stopping the fight before the final bell.

The sloppy conclusion resulted in the Florida crowd booing Paul as he attempted to stall the fight when he was struggling to make it to the finish line on clearly-exhausted legs.

Under the rules of the exhibition fight, only a knockout or TKO would have resulted in a victory for the undefeated boxer or YouTube star.

It wasn’t all fun and games.

As part of the absurd rules for the blockbuster fight no judges were ringside the score the contest.

Paul showboated for the final 20 seconds of the eighth round by pointing up to the clock inside the stadium, while Mayweather had a huge grin on his face as the final bell sounded.

It’s why both fighters had plenty to be happy about as they left the ring, reportedly earning a combined $151 million for the fight.

Logan Paul does a hand stand after his contracted exhibition boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.

It was a hard night to land a glove on someone.

Mayweather will earn $133 million for returning to the ring one more time, while Paul will walk away with a reported $18 million payday.

Boxing commentators called the spectacle daylight robbery — especially after pictures emerged after the fight showing both had happy smiles on their dials as they walked back to their dressing rooms.

Floyd on way back to dressing room. #MayweatherPaul#boxingpic.twitter.com/tAPR17XGVF

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) June 7, 2021

Paul on way back to dressing room. #boxing#MayweatherPaulpic.twitter.com/P79CkbGD7I

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) June 7, 2021

Boxing commentator Teddy Atlas wrote on Twitter: “Floyd was half right, it wasn’t exciting but it was Easy Money”.

The Athletic’s boxing scribe Lance Pugmire described it as “legalised bank robbery”.

Veteran boxing reporter Kevin Iole wrote in his post-fight report: “At the end of the day, what this was was an outrageous money grab. It angered many boxing purists”.

Mayweather’s admission when speaking to reporters out of the ring didn’t help the legitimacy of the fight.

“It wasn’t a real fight, it was like sparring in the gym,” he said.

The biggest name in boxing, Canelo Alvarez, also appeared to be unimpressed with what was dished up.

🤦🏼‍♂️

— Canelo Alvarez (@Canelo) June 7, 2021

The official statistics from the fight show how lucky Paul was to survive to the final bell with Mayweather landing 43 strikes to his own 28. Mayweather also threw just 107 punches while Paul threw 217 — meaning the social media influencer failed to connect on 191 punches.

Both fighters were full of praise for their opponents when speaking after the fight.

Floyd Mayweather finally caused some claret to appear in the final round when Logan Paul took one on his nose.

Mayweather refused to take the bait when asked about fighting Paul’s younger brother Jake next, but showed admiration for the brash siblings.

“I had fun. You’ve got to realise I’m not 21 anymore,” he said inside the ring.

“Great young fighter. Strong. Tough. He’s better than I thought he was.

“I was surprised by him. Good fun. Good guy.”

Paul then said: “This is one of the greatest moments of my life. I’m happy. It’s an honour to grace the ring with him”.

Round by round updates

Round 1 - Mayweather barely throws a punch while staying outside the range of Paul’s jab. Paul smiles as he fails to land a blow. Mayweather lands a significant strike when he catches Paul leaning in with a nice left hand counter-punch that caught the 26-year-old. The round takes a dramatic turn when Paul catches Mayweather in a clinch and starts raining down blows that force Mayweather to duck his head and cover up.

Round 2 - Mayweather continues to struggle to get inside the range of Paul’s reach advantage. Neither fighter manages to land a significant strike.

Round 3 - Mayweather lands the best punch of the fight from out of nowhere. Mayweather opened Paul up with a left hook and then followed with a nice body shot. The TV commentators said Paul had been “cracked” by the force of the punch. Paul was earlier swinging and missing with jabs that Mayweather was happy to dance around.

Round 4 - Mayweather has kicked into gear. He lands a good jab to Paul’s chin. The referee is forced to step in to separate the two fighters. Paul again turns the round on its head with a good overhand right. Mayweather finishes the round strongly in the most turbulent round of the fight.

Round 5 - Mayweather catches Paul with a left hook that has Paul pushed back onto the ropes. Paul appears out on his feet and is being peppered with calculated shots by Mayweather. The crowd turns on Paul with shouts of “boo” echoing around the stadium. Mayweather continues to dominate and lands a particularly impressive right upper cut. It is uncertain if the exhausted Paul will be able to continue for much longer.

Round 6 - Logan Paul continues to wrestle Mayweather as a result of his extreme fatigue. Mayweather appears frustrated by the scrappy fight and Paul’s clinging holds. The TV commentators declare: “You can tell Floyd is getting upset”.

Round 7 - Paul can see the finish line in sight and is desperately trying to hang on, using every trick in the book to slow the fight down. The seventh round is the slowest yet with neither fighter even attempting significant strikes.

Round 8 - The crowd starts to boo Paul again when he continues to use tactics to stop Floyd from walking him down. Paul even taunts Mayweather at the end of the eighth round, pointing at the clock. The fight goes the distance and no official winner is recorded.

Storm causes complete chaos for Mayweather-Paul showdown

It came after a heavy shower resulted in water covering the ring, making it unsafe for the thrilling rollercoaster between Jarrett Hurd and Luis Arias to continue.

The event is taking place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, an open-air stadium used by NFL team the Miami Dolphins.

The referee called a stop and demanded officials use towels to dry the ring, particularly a slippery piece of advertising in the middle of the ring.

After a delay of several minutes, the fight was able to continue — only for it to be stopped two more times.

Veteran boxing guru Dan Rafael called the scenes a “mess”.

“It’s raining at the fight and the there is a timeout to mop up the ring. What a mess,” he posted on Twitter.

The rain came down in Florida as the fighters were told to cool their jets..

“This is surreal to watch. Raining like crazy. Stadium empty. But they’re putting on a show.”

The weather forecast and scenes of fighters repeatedly slipping over has cast a shadow over the event just minutes away from Mayweather and Paul walking out to the ring.

World champion’s absurd bet on Logan Paul

Former world champion Regis Prograis has put down $50,000 on Logan Paul to stun the world and knock out Floyd Mayweather today.

The YouTube star will walk into the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami as the monster underdog — but Prograis has spotted the biggest reason the undefeated boxing legend may meet his demise.

The former super-lightweight world champion says Paul’s weight advantage of more than 15kg means he has an overwhelming advantage — and more power to put Mayweather to the floor.

After watching the weigh-ins this weekend, Prograis is convinced Paul can end Mayweather’s 50-0 record — even though the exhibition fight does not count towards Mayweather’s official record.

“Tonight is the night, Mayweather is going to lose,” he wrote on social media.

“Logan Paul is over 30lbs bigger. They make weight classes in boxing for a reason. I’m putting up 50K that Logan will get the KO. You heard it here first.”

His bet could see a return of up to $300,000 with Paul’s odds being crunched in from as long as $6 with some bookmakers. With most of the money coming in for Paul, he is expected to start the fight as a $4 outsider.

Mayweather has consistently shrugged off questions about giving away such a dramatic weight advantage to an opponent.

A seriously ripped Paul tipped the scales at 85kg while Mayweather registered 70kg.

Mike Tyson said this weekend Mayweather will “kill” Paul ahead of their exhibition boxing match today.

Arias wins firefight over Hurd

Luis Arias has emerged with a controversial split decision victory over Jarrett Hurd.

The first professional fight on the card delivered dramatic action with both fighters knocked down and both fighters opened up with bloody cuts.

Arias dominated the later rounds, despite a nasty cut opening above his nose in the middle of his forehead.

Arias was handed the fight via a split decision (95-94, 97-93, 96-93).

Hurd said after the fight he believed he did enough to deserve the victory.

Chad Johnson dropped on Mayweather undercard

Former NFL star Chad Johnson has been dropped in his exhibition fight against former bare-knuckle fighter Brian Maxwell.

The first fight on the Mayweather-Paul undercard didn’t disappoint with Johnson landing some good shots in the early rounds before eating a heavy right overhand that left him crashing to the floor.

Maxwell’s right handed landed flush on Johnson’s left cheek when the NFL star was exposed by poor footwork and an unbalanced stance.

Johnson was given a standing 10-count but was able to finish the fourth round, ensuring no official winner will be declared.

Chad Johnson fought well, but wow! @OfficialCrowder is definitely going to mention this on the next podcast. #BraggingRightspic.twitter.com/rMJJbpliqR

— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) June 7, 2021

Despite being badly exposed in the fourth round Johnson called out UFC star Conor McGregor for his next fight. Seriously.

Johnson is an increasingly popular figure with fans as a result of several stories of him leaving obscenely wealthy tips for restaurant workers in recent years.

How to watch Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul

You can tune in by purchasing the bout on Foxtel’s Main Event. The pay-per-view costs $49.95.

The circus is taking place in Miami and the card kicks off at 10am AEST. Mayweather and Paul are expected to walk into the ring at roughly 12pm — but as is often the case in boxing, there’s every chance that could be delayed.

While boxing purists might be squirming at the thought of the fight, plenty of punters will be tuning in hoping one of them gets knocked out.

Mayweather “retired” years ago after finishing his professional boxing career undefeated over 50 fights, but has cashed in with bouts against UFC megastar Conor McGregor in 2017 and a Japanese kickboxer in 2018.

Paul is a YouTube star who has previously fought fellow social media phenomenon KSI. The first clash ended in a draw, the second went KSI’s way courtesy of the judges’ decision.

Full card for Mayweather-Paul

Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul - no winner declared after eight round exhibition

Badou Jack defeated Dervin Colina via TKO, Round 4

Luis Arias defeated Jarrett Hurd via split decision (94-95, 96-93, 97-93)

Chad Johnson vs Brian Maxwell - no winner declared after four round exhibition