FLOYD MAYWEATHER will ‘train his ass off’ before facing Logan Paul – as his sparring partner warned ‘anything can happen’.
Mayweather announced the shock news that he will fight the YouTuber in February next year, describing it as a ‘special exhibition’.
Paul, 25, claimed a win over the 50-0 icon would be ‘the greatest upset in the history of sports’.
And according to Mayweather’s sparring partner Denis Douglin, the ever-perfectionist will be in no mood to risk his and boxing’s reputation.
Douglin, 32, told SunSport: “I think he could walk in as he is and still be fine but Floyd being Floyd, he’s going to train and he’s going to train his ass off.
“That’s just the level of perfectionist he is.
“The kid is a lot bigger and anything can happen. He lands a freak punch and knocks Floyd out, you change the world of boxing.
“Floyd’s not going to let that happen. Floyd, in my opinion, will train for this.
“Maybe not as intense as he would for Pacquiao or someone like that, but he’s not going to come off the street and fight him.”
Mayweather, 43, retired as a professional in 2017, after beating UFC star Conor McGregor, 32, in ten rounds.
Southpaw Douglin helped the American prepare for the fight, providing him with some left-handed sparring.
And he watched as Mayweather rode out an early storm from McGregor before upping his product and closing the show later on.
Douglin expects a similar story against 0-1 ring novice Paul, who lost his debut to internet rival KSI, 27, last November by split-decision.
And while Douglin knows Mayweather can end the fight whenever and however he pleases, the ‘master entertainer’ will not do so, as it would spoil the spectacle.
He explained: “The size is what makes in interesting for me. But I think Floyd is going to have fun with it.
“There is no statement to be made, if Floyd comes out and knocks out a YouTuber in 30 seconds no one got entertained, we already knew he could do that.
“The way boxing is going is in the direction of entertainment, and Floyd is a master entertainer.
“He could have done the same with Conor, but he wanted to entertain the crowd and I thought that fight was great.
“Conor caught him with some good shots. I think Floyd will make it entertaining, not blow Logan Paul out.
“But when he’s ready, he’ll take it seriously and show the world there’s levels to this.”
Mayweather has not been seen in the ring since 2018, when he traveled to Japan to take on featherweight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.
But the exhibition only lasted one round, as Nasukawa was dropped three times and left in tears afterwards.
Mayweather again sparred Douglin to help dust off some of the cobwebs, having been out of the gym since his retirement fight against McGregor.
Up until this summer, it was the last time the pair had shared rounds in the gym.
And when Douglin received a call from Mayweather in the early hours of the morning in June, he was expecting to be in for a similar night’s work.
But instead, he was stunned as the retired legend appeared to have come back ‘stronger and faster’ – despite having not fought in two years.
Douglin said: “The power was different, and I don’t know what happened because we sparred before he went to Tokyo the first time.
“And he was good but I was like, ‘Ah, Floyd’s getting older, he’s slowing down’. But when I sparred him the last time it didn’t feel like that.
“It felt like a really good welterweight. I feel like he’s got stronger and faster than the last time we sparred before the Tenshin fight.
“Somehow he’s still improving. He’s a freak of nature.”
Mayweather’s decision to fight once more left Douglin far from shocked, having experienced first hand what he is capable of despite turning 44 the month he fights Paul.
And with the potential to still earn endless amounts of money by taking on stars of social media or the UFC, Mayweather will never allow himself to lose a step.
Douglin said: “He must be working, but nobody knows he’s working.
“The way we sparred, it was hard, you don’t do 30 minutes straight sparring at my level if you’re not in shape.
“We should all know Floyd’s not going to take anything without being in shape, he’s a true professional.”
