World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman has embraced the involvement of popular influencers in the sport of boxing.
This past Sunday night, five division world champion Floyd Mayweather traded punches with Youtube star Logan Paul in an eight round exhibition at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Opinions have been split on whether or not the contest should have taken place.
Mayweather, 44-years-old, retired from the sport of boxing in August 2017.
Against a 26-year-old opponent who had at least a 45-pound weight advantage, and at least a six inch height advantage, Mayweather seemed to struggle at times.
There were numerous complaints that Paul excessively held in the final few rounds.
However, Sulaiman personally enjoyed the fight and sees no reason why more of these contests can't be held in the future.
"It was a phenomenon to see Floyd Mayweather, one of the greatest in history, against Logan Paul, who outweighed him by about 45-pounds and had a significant height advantage, but in an exhibition they have security measures and greater control of what happens," Sulaiman said.
"Nobody can control the issue of influencers, because the reality is there is so much popularity [with the social media influencers] and there are so many willing to pay to see [them fight]. We must provide guidance and take care of everyone involved so that there can be a benefit for boxing.
"It was an entertaining event. The message it leaves us is that of entertainment, that it provides the opportunity to reach millions of people who may not have traditionally watched boxing; hopefully new fans for our sport will emerge from this.
"We knew that sooner or later this activity from the influencers would come to us. We urge all boxing commissions to pay the maximum of attention to prevent [any dangerous] situations - and that if fights are authorized then there are extreme security measures."
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