Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Foreman: The Pauls got it right
LEGEND George Foreman says the Paul brothers have finally made boxing what it should always have been about – “money and popularity”.
Jake and Logan Paul have taken the fight game by storm over the past two years with huge pay-perview bouts against YouTube stars, MMA veterans and, most notably, Floyd Mayweather.
And while some believe their arrival on the scene may have been to the detriment of the sport, Foreman insists nothing could be further from the truth.
He said: “These two guys are the most popular guys in boxing now.
“They’ve got something that every fighter wishes they had. That is that they’re popular.
“It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you’re not popular it doesn’t matter. These guys are popular and they’re taking home pay cheques. They are the ones to reckon with. They are boxing right now.”
Foreman, a two-time, world heavyweight champion, now 72, fought some of the biggest names in the sport’s history during an epic career.
Wins over Joe Frazier and Ken Norton were balanced with defeats to Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield.
But the game has changed since then – and Foreman insists there is no going back.
A sign of the times is the social media spats between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury in midweek, with both fighters going back and forth with offers and counter offers, played out for the world to see.
But this added dimension is something that has thrown the sport into the social media mainstream – and with it huge purses on offer – which Foreman argues can only be a good thing.
He added: “It’s now all about what it should’ve been all about way back – all about money and popularity. I think, let the good times roll.”