Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 6-11-21

Sports
Chad Johnson Impresses Despite Getting Knocked Down In Boxing Debut
Chad Johnson was knocked down in the fourth round of his boxing debut against Brian Maxwell.
Chad Johnson's boxing debut was off to a surprisingly impressive showing until mid- way 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.
"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 judg- ing, so no winner was de- clared.
Maxwell, 33, claimed vic- tory 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 sur- prisingly entertaining for an exhibition bout.
The fans at Hard Rock Sta- dium were heavily in favor of Johnson, who is a Miami na- tive. They gave him cheers be- fore and after the fight.
"I lost my virginity tonight and it was fun," Johnson said. "I think I'm ready for [Conor] McGregor."
Retired And Fading, Floyd
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Mayweather Needs To Hang
Up The Gloves Despite Win
Somewhere in Miami, Floyd Mayweather is laughing.
A lackluster eight-round exhibition that went the dis- tance with no official winner was an appropriate end for Sunday night's May- weather-Logan Paul show- case. Everything about this bout was a circus, and the re- deeming hope of a viral knock- out to make it all worth it proved to be for naught.
There were no knock- downs, no significant mo- ments in which Paul was hurt, and even though May- weather clearly outper- formed his opponent, there will be criticism that he could- n't put away a Youtuber with an 0-1 professional boxing record.
"I had fun. You've got to re- alize I'm not 21 anymore," Mayweather said after the fight. "He was strong, tough and better than I thought he was. I was surprised by him tonight."
As Mayweather left the ring, he smirked. He knows he got away with what he called "legalized bank robbery." Mayweather says he already made $30 million in the buildup for the fight, just from the sponsors that were listed on his trunks, with a larger final purse expected.
The reason why May- weather was able to cash in seems clear: boxing has failed in many ways to replace his presence. The sport still clam- ors for Mayweather and everything he brings.
Now 44 years old and re-
Floyd Mayweather, right, said that he made $30 mil- lion just from sponsorships.
tired from real fights since 2017 (and perhaps longer than that, depending on your view of Mayweather's last pro fight against Conor McGre- gor), Mayweather clearly isn't anywhere near the fighter he was at his peak. He cer- tainly dominated enough of the fight to earn a "win," if the bout was officially judged, but his performance overall was underwhelming.
Does that say more about him, boxing fans or the sport of boxing as a whole? Despite the lackluster nature of his performance, Mayweather remains boxing's biggest showman. He remains the guy that makes people tune into a fight after not watching one for years.
Many mocked the idea of this bout -- a matchup so laughable on paper that you can barely call it a fight. Heck, even Paul said he laughed when he first heard the idea.
Mayweather leave the sideshow behind for the time being to turn his focus back to- wards his primary post-career pursuit -- promoting boxing.
FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 13-B