Does Logan Paul's training video indicate that he can actually trouble Floyd Mayweather?
Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul is the talk of the combat sports world. Be it the sunny beaches of Miami or the icy mountains of the Himalayas; the fight has piqued the attention of people far and wide courtesy of the two larger-than-life personalities involved.
Regardless, when all hype is set aside, what remains is two athletes putting their lives on the line in a boxing match. Make no mistake about it, this exhibition bout is, at the end of the day, a real fight. The age-old combat sports tenet has repeatedly taught martial artists and fight fans worldwide that no one is invincible.
Today, we break down YouTube megastar Logan Paul’s media workout ahead of his much-awaited fight against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. We look at the good, the bad, and everything in between in this brief breakdown of Logan Paul and the threat he poses to Floyd Mayweather.
Logan Paul’s unconventional style originates from his training under veteran boxing coach Milton Lacroix
We recently looked at Logan Paul’s boxing coach, Milton Lacroix. The veteran coach is known for his unconventional approach to the sweet science, something that’s mirrored to a great extent by a vast majority of his students. You can watch the highlights from Logan Paul’s media workout in the video embedded below (*Video courtesy: Fight Hype).
Something that has set the combat sports community abuzz after watching his media day workout session is Logan Paul's boxing technique. 'The Maverick' appears to be in great shape and is carrying a decent amount of muscle without being too bulked up. Paul's cardio also appeared to be on point throughout the workout.
However, as noted, it was Logan Paul's technique that was the biggest talking point to come out of the workout. 'The Maverick' is currently being criticized on social media for what his detractors claim to be sloppy technique.
On the contrary, some people opine that Logan Paul's unconventional boxing style is effective even though it goes against the conventional wisdom imparted in most boxing gyms worldwide.
Logan Paul's supporters have noted that his unconventional style and technique stems from the fact that he's trained under Milton Lacroix since the beginning of his short boxing career.
Logan Paul looked impressive on the skipping rope, explosive on the heavy bag and mitts, but unconventional overall
Another big takeaway from the workout session was Logan Paul's cardio. He looked impressive on the jump rope, be it his technique or the amount of time he put into it without driving himself to exhaustion.
This was most definitely something that ensured his fans that 'The Maverick' has been taking training seriously ahead of the monumental clash against Floyd Mayweather.
Logan Paul is seemingly in the best shape he could be for this fight – a decent balance between being muscular and not carrying too much muscle that could hinder his cardio output.
The next notable talking point from the workout came from Logan Paul's shadowboxing. This is something that many critics have been pointing out as a surefire sign that Paul isn't ready to take on someone as seasoned as Floyd Mayweather.
Logan Paul appeared to throw punches with decent form, but he wasn't looking at his target (granted, that one hits an imaginary target while shadowboxing).
Paul wasn't looking at the space in front of him and was facing sideways during most of the punches thrown while shadowboxing. This practice isn't uncommon in the boxing world, however, training oneself to look at where one's strikes land (even while shadowboxing) is considered to be good form in the martial art of boxing.
Yet another point of criticism that's being directed towards Logan Paul is that he wasn't breathing correctly for most of his shadowboxing. It was only later on in the session that Paul started breathing out while throwing his strikes.
Overlooking one's breathing is one of the quickest ways to tire out in a fight, and against a cardio machine like Mayweather, this could spell bad news for Logan Paul.
Logan Paul's work on the heavy bag also told an interesting story about where he's at in his boxing journey. The heavy boxing bag is one of the best tools to train one's punches and often reveals how good one's technique truly is.
Logan Paul's jabs, straights/crosses, and hooks all appeared to be somewhat unconventional. They were thrown in a wide, looping manner, using full or nearly-full extension of the muscles.
While muscle extension and looping generally give more leverage and power, it also increases the time it takes for the strikes to reach their target. This also opens up the opportunity for Logan Paul's opponent, Floyd Mayweather, to land counter punches and slip out of the way long before Paul can catch the undefeated boxer.
Furthermore, Logan Paul kept his hands low for the most part and didn't bring them up to protect his chin after throwing a strike/combination of strikes.
Moreover, Logan Paul's mitt work with his coach Milton Lacroix featured more unconventional boxing technique and looping punches. Paul displayed a powerful uppercut, the punch that he famously knocked down KSI with in his professional boxing debut.
The uppercut came with a great deal of muscle extension, with Logan Paul dropping his hands even further, thereby telegraphing the strike. As noted, the wide, looping strikes generate more leverage and power but will surely leave Logan Paul open to Floyd Mayweather's dangerous counter punches.
Floyd Mayweather's thunderous check hook that KO'd Ricky Hatton comes to mind. The Hatton KO could very well be recreated if Logan Paul rushes in with looping punches. However, this is where things get interesting.
Logan Paul exhibited a substantial amount of discipline regarding maintaining distance during mitt work. Paul didn't rush in like most other beginner boxers with only one pro bout under their belt usually do.
Instead, Logan Paul chose to hang back and counter. Paul even brought his hands up in response to being hit with the mitts by his coach. This is something that Paul will have to do against the much lighter and faster Mayweather.
Blocking the smaller Mayweather's combinations before clinching up and making 'Money' carry his weight is yet another tactic that Logan Paul is expected to employ in their fight.
Logan Paul looked powerful and explosive on the heavy bag, the mitts, and throughout the workout. Nevertheless, Paul's looping punches and habit of almost always keeping his hands low are cause for concern in his fight against a legendary pugilist like Floyd Mayweather.
The Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul matchup will headline the fight card that'll take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on June 6th, 2021.
Which fighter do you see asserting their dominance in the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul matchup? Sound off in the comments.
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