Mayweather vs. Paul 2021: Final Odds and Predictions for Superfight

A former boxing champion with a 50-0 professional record vs. a YouTuber with only two fights of boxing experience. On paper, it looks like a monumental mismatch. But perhaps there could be some surprises in store Sunday night.

That's when Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is 44 and mostly retired from boxing, will go toe-to-toe with Logan Paul, a 26-year-old who is trying to make a name for himself in the boxing ring and prove he can be a legitimate fighter. The highly anticipated bout is taking place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

There's not going to be an announced winner for the fight, which won't have official judges scoring it. However, knockouts are allowed. So that will be the only way for either of the combatants to decisively prove he had the better fight.

Here's everything else you need to know heading into Sunday's fight.

Odds

Favorite: Floyd Mayweather -800 (bet $800 to win $100)

Underdog: Logan Paul +450 (bet $100 to win $450)

Odds via Oddschecker.

Preview, Prediction

Not only is Paul younger, but he will also have a major size advantage over Mayweather. At Saturday's weigh-in, the 6'2" Paul was 189.5 pounds, while the 5'8" Mayweather was 155 pounds.

Perhaps that's why Paul is confident despite being set to go up against one of the greatest boxers of all time.

"He's not ready. He doesn't know what to expect," Paul said during an interview with Showtime at the weigh-in. "And this is not the biggest fight of my life. This is the biggest fight of his life. Because he's got a lot on the line, and he's got everything to lose. I'm going to go in there and have fun."

But no matter how confident Paul is in his ability to hang with Mayweather, it's easier said than done. Plenty of talented boxers tried to beat Mayweather in the past, and none of them were successful.

Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao all lost to Mayweather. So did former UFC champion Conor McGregor. Those were all professional bouts. Since Mayweather's win over McGregor in August 2017, his only fight has been an exhibition bout against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa on Dec. 31, 2018, which Mayweather won via TKO in two minutes, 20 seconds.

Sure, Mayweather is only getting older. But he still appears to be in great shape. And he's just as confident heading into Sunday's bout as Paul. Plus, Mayweather has the accolades to back it up.

"If I wanted to, I could go out there and, if I want to, I could knock him out in the first round," Mayweather said, per Adam Caparell of Complex Sports.

That won't happen for numerous reasons. First off, this match is bigger than the competitive aspect because of the entertainment value, and both boxers are going to want to deliver excitement. Plus, they will likely be feeling out each other for the first three minutes and setting the tone for the rest of the bout.

Still, Mayweather is going to have an opportunity to knock out Paul, and he's going to capitalize on it. It's hard to imagine that a boxer as inexperienced as Paul (whose only professional bout was against fellow YouTuber KSI) will have the skills to avoid getting knocked out by Mayweather.

That's not to say Paul hasn't put in a lot of work while training and greatly improved from his professional debut in November 2019. But he isn't up to par with Mayweather, who is still capable of performing at a high level.

So while Mayweather won't put away Paul too early, he will control the fight from the start and set up a knockout. That will happen at some point in the third round, as Mayweather proves he's a better boxer than the younger, larger Paul.

Prediction: Mayweather knocks out Paul in third round.