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‘The coolest thing ever’: YouTuber Logan Paul avoids knockout in bout with Floyd Mayweather

YouTuber Logan Paul avoided a knockout and managed to drag Floyd Mayweather to the final bell during their boxing match in Miami.

Neither man was judged the winner, as per exhibition rules, but Paul emerged with dignity from his bizarre clash against the boxing great.

Paul’s only previous boxing match was a loss to fellow YouTuber KSI and he struggled to land punches on Sunday night.

Mayweather, who retired in 2017 with a record of 50 wins and zero defeats, landed a fair share of the punches but Paul was able to battle on.

Mayweather, 44, appeared relaxed and easily evaded Paul’s punches early in the match, smiling when an uppercut finally landed in the third round.

Paul, who has 29 million followers on YouTube, said: “I don’t want anyone to tell me anything is impossible ever again.

“Everyone has it in them.

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“Floyd Mayweather, it was an honour.

“You never know with this guy – I’m going to go home thinking: ‘Did Floyd let me survive?'”

He described the match as “the coolest thing ever” before suggesting a rematch.

Mayweather said he “had fun” but added: “You’ve got to realise I’m not 21 anymore.

“He’s better than I thought he was – he’s a tough, rough competitor.

“I was surprised by him. He knew how to use his weight and tie me up.”

Paul, 26, had gone into the match with a substantial height advantage and an extra 35lbs, advantages that would have helped him absorb some of Mayweather’s attacks.

Mayweather had been angered in the build-up to the match by Logan’s brother Jake, who stole his hat.

Despite this, he remained cool throughout the match.

The exhibition match did not count towards Mayweather’s record, which includes wins against boxing greats Oscar de la Hoya, Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao and Britain’s Ricky Hatton.

The eight-round bout may have been an exhibition but it generated huge amounts of interest and cash in ticket sales on pay-per-view TV.

There were no judges and no official winner (the match could only be decided by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification), but both men were expected to have a good payday.

Mayweather, who is nicknamed “Money”, said he expects to make more than $50m (£35m), while it’s estimated Paul will pocket around $20m (£14m).

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