Boxing commentator Lennel Velasquez has made his bets after retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather announced he will return to the ring in early February in a bout against Logan Paul, a YouTube personality with no professional experience.
Boxing insider Lennel Velasquez has made his bets after retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather announced he will return to the ring in early February in a bout against Logan Paul, a YouTube personality with no professional experience.
"I've got a few dollars. I'd like to bet on Paul today," Valasquez told Inside Edition Digital. "No, I'm just kidding."
Although he is not a professional boxer, Paul has fought in two matches against vlogger and rapper Olajide "KSI" Olatunji, the first match which ended in a draw and the second in a defeat for Paul, CNN reported. Meanwhile, Mayweather has gone undefeated with a record of 50-0, and after beating Conor McGregor, he earned a title as one of the sport's all-time greats.
"Anytime you have a fighter who's been a world champion for many, many years, undefeated for multiple world champions, retired or not retired— If he comes out and he fights the guy who really doesn't have that much experience, and never really fought anybody of substance, then you got to go with the former champ. But, I do think it's going to be entertaining," Velasquez continued.
Word of the boxing match between the pair, who are nearly two decades apart in age, started floating around Twitter after Floyd responded to some of Logan's tweets that were taunting him.
Whether the rookie could get seriously injured in the high-risk sport, let alone stands a chance against the champion, Velasquez says boxing "is nothing to play with."
"It's not a game," he said. "And exhibition or not, when somebody is throwing punches, anybody can get hurt. And, that goes for Floyd Mayweather, too. I mean, he could get hurt just as easy as the other guy gets hurt, right? Just as easy as Paul gets hurt, they're both throwing punches."
Many people don't think the match is a fair fight, but the exhibition has been set for Feb. 20.
"You have one of the greatest welterweight champions ever, who retired undefeated not too long ago, fighting against a guy who has maybe one, if that, professional boxing match," Valesquez said. "[Paul's] got a couple of trainers, he's been training for a little while and he got a license, and you're talking about a guy who hasn't fought anybody, against a guy who's fought multiple world champions."
Though some detractors of the match have said it hurts the credibility and integrity of the sport, Valesquez is looking at the event in a different light.
"Some people may feel that way, but I don't feel like it hurts the sport," he said. I think boxing needs more viewership. I think, it needs these types of events, so that when they get to see the real boxing events, they appreciate it a little more."
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