- Close
ESPN Staff Writer- Covered the Broncos for two seasons with the Denver Post
- Graduate of the University of Houston
- A native of Jackson, Miss.
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida -- Logan Paul raised his right glove and pointed to the sky. He then made a face at Floyd Mayweather, taunting him. And then flicked out a jab.
It was a surreal moment in a surreal buildup and fight.
YouTube star-turned-prizefighter Paul went the distance with Floyd Mayweather -- all eight rounds -- on Sunday night in an entertaining exhibition boxing match at Hard Rock Stadium. Paul's coach, Milton Lacroix, told ESPN last month that a success in this fight for Paul would be going the whole way. And that's what Paul did.
"He's better than I thought he was," Mayweather said of Paul. "...I was surprised by him tonight. Good work. Good little guy."
The exhibition was scheduled for eight three-minute rounds. Mayweather and Paul wore 10-ounce gloves. There were no judges and no official winner read, though knockouts were legal.
The Florida State Boxing Commission did not officially sanction the fight -- due to the large disparity in size and experience level -- though it provided Samuel Burgos as the referee. The bout, which will not go on either man's professional record, was promoted by Mayweather Promotions and distributed by Showtime pay-per-view.
"I don't want anyone to tell me anything is impossible ever again," Paul said. "The fact that I'm in here with one of the best boxers of all times proves the odds can be beat."
Round-by-round coverage:
Round 8: Logan Paul goes the distance with Mayweather. Yes, that's right. There will not be an official winner announced and obviously Mayweather would have won if there was. But Paul acclimated himself pretty well considering -- far better than than most people thought. Mayweather 10-9. Total: Mayweather 78-74
Round 7: It's getting chippy now. Lots of clinching. Some talking back and forth. But arguably Paul's best round since the seventh. He did land a left hand and this was the first round in awhile Mayweather didn't land much of significance. Paul 10-9. Total: 68-65 Mayweather
Round 6: Paul is very tired, but he's still in there. Lots of clinching. Not much on his punches. Mayweather landed a hard left hook late. Has not found the finishing blow, though. Mayweather 10-9. Total: 59-55
Round 5: Logan Paul has heart. Mayweather landed two huge left hooks, a big right hand and an uppercut. But Paul is hanging in and throwing back. Have to be impressed with Paul. Mayweather 10-9. Total: 49-46 Mayweather
Round 4: Mayweather landed some big shots in this round. Paul has a bit of a chin. Mayweather blasted him with a right hand and left hook. Paul took some big deep breaths. But he's surviving -- and did land a right. Mayweather 10-9. Total: 39-37 Mayweather
Round 3: Mayweather landed a couple of very hard left hooks and a right off a series of feints. Mayweather is getting more aggressive. Paul might be a bit hurt and tired. Mayweather 10-9. Total: 29-28 Mayweather
Round 2: Not a ton happening in this round. Mayweather landed a few shots to the body. Paul whiffed on most of his punches, but did land a right partially. Paul doesn't look terrible, but Mayweather hasn't really turned it on yet. 10-9 Paul. Total: 19-19.
Round 1: Paul finished the round with a huge flurry, but Mayweather shelled up and just about nothing got through. Mayweather didn't throw a ton in the round, but landed a pair of left hooks and a body shot. 10-9 Mayweather
Results:
Jack dominates late replacement Colina with fourth-round TKO
Badou Jack isn't finished yet. Jack turned in his best performance in four years overcoming an opponent obsessed with holding to secure a fourth-round TKO of Dervin Colina.
Jack knocked down Colina three times in the fourth round, the last time enforced the three knockdown rule and stopped the bout.
Colina (15-1, 13 KOs) was a short-notice replacement for Jean Pascal who tested positive for multiple performance-enhancing drugs that got him yanked out of the bout. He certainly looked like it, getting docked multiple points for holding and putting up a lackluster performance. It was two short right hooks -- one to the head and one to the body -- that were the finishing blows for Jack to close the fight.
As good as Arias- Hurd was, Colina - Jack was not. Bad body language from the beginning, Colina didn't want to be there. Pretty ugly. #MayweatherPaul
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) June 7, 2021
Jack, who somehow always finds himself on a big stage, plans to move up to the cruiserweight division saying he's tired of cutting weight at an older age. Jack, of Sweden, could become a three-division champion if he wins a title at cruiserweight.
"I just got to be patient," Jack said. "This is God's plan. I got to keep pushing."
Arias upsets Hurd via split decision
Luis Arias already has a nickname. It's "Cuba," after his Cuban father. But he might want to consider changing it to "Rain Man."
In a steady downpour, Arias put forth the best performance of his career, beating the heralded favorite Jarrett Hurd via split decision (by judges' scores of 94-95, 97-93 and 96-93) in a middleweight bout.
The first round was relatively uneventful. But after the bout was paused in the second due to the rain, which caused Arias to slip in the ring, Arias turned it on, throwing and landing haymaker after haymaker amid brief pauses to wipe down the slippery canvas.
Hurd never went down and was never hurt badly. But Arias kept the pressure on and rarely backed off, pummeling Hurd with power punches -- huge overhand rights and left hooks -- for a significant portion of the bout. Over and over. Hurd ate all of them, but didn't block most. After the second, Arias' face was covered in blood, but it didn't play a huge factor.
"You could have had me out of there," Arias said to Hurd. "I was definitely buzzed. If you found a way, you could have got me out me out of there."
Hurd had some moments in the fifth and sixth rounds. It seemed like Arias was slowing down, because he was pushing an intense pace. During that stretch, Hurd was able to land sharp uppercuts in close, as well as crisp left hooks. The shots did damage -- just not enough to keep Arias from coming forward. In the seventh round, Hurd landed two straight left hooks low, which potentially gave Arias time to recover.
Arias finished strong in the ninth and 10th rounds with hard combinations and blistering overhand rights.
"Jarrett is a hell of a fighter and he's not done," Arias said.
Arias (19-2-1), fighting out of Milwaukee, snapped a three-fight streak without a victory. Hurd (24-2) has dropped two of three. Hurd is the former unified super welterweight champion, and he moved down to middleweight for this bout. He was clearly the bigger man in the ring, but it didn't matter.
Ex-NFL Johnson knocked down, finishes his exhibition fight against Maxwell
Chad Johnson's boxing debut was off to a surprisingly impressive showing until midway through the fourth round when a big right hook from Brian Maxwell dropped him to the canvas.
Getting knocked down will be the highlight that comes out of Ochocinco's journey into the ring Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
Johnson, 43, can take pride in getting up from the punch as he finished the four-round exhibition against a professional combat fighter in Maxwell.
OCHO VS SCIENCE! Salute brother! @ochocinco 🙏🏾
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 7, 2021
"My life has always been about taking chances and doing crazy stuff -- this was on my bucket list," Johnson said. "This was a message to everyone out there don't be scared to take chances. Don't be afraid to fail. It's OK."
The fight went the distance and there was no official judging so no winner was declared.
Maxwell, 33, claimed victory after the fight saying "ask the world who Brian Maxwell is now. Brian Maxwell is here. Thank you Chad. It was an honor to fight my idol."
Maxwell is currently a bare knuckle fighter with an 0-3 record with two losses by knockouts. He also was 0-1 in standard boxing fights and 2-3 in MMA fights.
Johnson-Maxwell was the first fight on the main card of Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul, and it was surprisingly entertaining for an exhibition bout.
There were plenty of NFL ties in the building to see Johnson's first bout including Terrell Owens, who was in his corner showing him love after the fight. Other attendees included Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, former wideout Brandon Marshall and former linebacker Channing Crowder.
The crowd at Hard Rock Stadium was pro-Johnson, who is a Miami native. They gave him cheers before and after the fight.
Johnson spent two months training for this boxing opportunity including a few week with brother titlists Jermall and Jermell Charlo. He also did some work with UFC star Jorge Masvidal.
Johnson came out strong, winning the first round after landing a solid right jab and an impactful left hook multiple times. Johnson, who outlanded Maxwell 17-to-14 per CompuBox, would have had a strong argument to winning the bout before being knocked down in the fourth round.
Johnson told the "I Am Athlete" podcast that Mayweather manager Leonard Ellerbe offered him a chance to potentially make a "cool million" for this fight and that he couldn't turn it down.
One week before the fight, Ochocinco told ESPN his goal was for "people who are buying tickets, people that are showing up, I want them to leave and say, 'I doubted Ocho, but to see him get in the ring, knowing that someone tried to kill [him]. He put on one hell of a f---ing show.'"
The big story will be Johnson suffering a highlight and meme worthy knockout, but overall he did achieve his goal. He entertained and performed better than many expected.
"I lost my virginity tonight and it was fun," Johnson said. "I think I'm ready for McGregor."
Torres scores another KO win to get closer to a title opportunity
Junior welterweight contender Jean Carlos Torres (18-0, 15 KOs) wants a title shot, and Sunday's statement knockout win over journeyman Zack Kuhn (10-8-1, 5 KOs) should only help his cause. After a slow start to the first round, Torres handled business knocking Kuhn down three times including a flush left hook that led the referee to immediately call an end to the bout in Round 2.
It was Torres' debut fight under the Mayweather Promotions banner, after signing on September 2020. Undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor likely has eyes on moving up to 147 pounds to face WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, squaring off against unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez at 140 or defending his title against fellow British contender and mandatory challenger Jack Catterall.
But Torres has done enough recently to get his name in the title mix. The 30-year-old Puerto Rican has now scored a knockout in seven of his last eight fights. Four fights, four wins for Mayweather Promotions fighters on Sunday night's non-televised undercard.
TMT prospect Benton outpoints Cruz for fifth win
It might not have been the kind of performance some would have wanted out of a top Mayweather Promotions prospect. But Adrian Benton got the job done.
Benton beat a very game Pedro Cruz via unanimous decision (42-36, 42-36, 42-36) in a four-round lightweight bout. Benton had a lot of success early, but Cruz never went away and was actually the aggressor at times late in the bout.
This was the first time since his pro debut that the 21-year-old Benton had gone the distance.
Benton messed around with stance switches throughout the bout. He landed big combos in both the first and second round. In the first, Cruz actually appeared to drop Benton with a right, but it was ruled a slip. Benton opened up a cut over Cruz's right eye in the second and was busier as he landed the harder punches in the third and fourth round, but Cruz was right there at the end, pressuring Benton.
Benton (5-0), a Cincinnati native, had not fought since December 2019. Cruz (1-1), fighting out of San Jose, California, won his pro debut in Mexico in 2019.
Hackett demolishes Diaz in first-round KO
Welterweight prospect Jalil Major Hackett made easy work of Angelo Diaz in his pro debut, overwhelming him with a bevy of power combinations before dropping and finishing Diaz just 1:11 minutes into the opening round.
The bout didn't even feel that long.
Hackett, an 18-year-old Mayweather Promotions boxer from Washington D.C., started off aggressive and confident, wasting little time hurting Diaz to the body. But it was his work to the head that left Diaz retreating the most. The finishing blow was a strong right hand that drove Diaz to the canvas with no hope of beating the 10-count. Diaz remained on the deck for at least a minute after the fight before being helped up. Diaz, from Odessa, Texas, was also making his pro debut.
Khan stops Gray in Round 2
It took Dorian Khan Jr. about one round to get warmed up. But after that, it was serious one-way traffic.
Khan, in his pro debut, pummeled Jonathan Gray throughout the second round, culminating in a finish at 2:59 of the second via TKO. Khan ripped hard combinations with Gray stuck in the corner before the referee stepped in to stop the action.
In the first, the southpaw Khan peppered Gray with combinations, using a nice right hook and straight left. But the heavy stuff came in the second round. Khan really started letting his hands go hard with combinations. He dropped Gray with a left uppercut to the body, and it was more of the same when Gray got back to his feet.
Khan (1-0), from Arizona, is a Mayweather Promotions product. He is just 18 years old. Gray (0-4) of Maryland has dropped three in a row this year after making his pro debut in 2020.