Logan Paul's Boxing Career May Be Over. Here's Why
As one of the most controversial YouTubers around, Logan Paul has been riding the wave of the next big thing for years. Paul built his career on IRL videos, but more recently he's made a name for himself in the worlds of professional sports and card collecting, of all things. The YouTuber found a second career as a boxer, fighting in big name matches against opponents like Floyd Mayweather. He's also tried his hand at professional wrestling, though any hopes of a new career were quashed when it seemed audience members largely wanted to see Paul take a beating. Some have questioned Paul's sports career at large, and his fight against Mayweather caused an uproar after fans suspected the match was rigged. Perhaps luckily for the Paul haters, the YouTuber turned boxer might not be in the ring much longer, all thanks to a devastating hand injury.
Paul's injured hand can be added to a long list of tragic details about the YouTube star, but it might be the only fact to destroy his hopes of becoming the best boxer around. On an April 12 live episode of "ImPaulsive," Paul's podcast talk show, he revealed that he's been having issues with his hand after hurting it while traveling abroad. Unfortunately for Paul, the reason for his injury is a tad embarrassing.
How did Paul break his hand?
Paul and his friend and cohost Mike Majlak explained what happened midway through the show. After Paul failed to properly begin the story, Majlak took over, clearly excited to share how silly the incident was. Apparently, the duo had been traveling around Germany with a rowdy crew — including German rapper Gzuz — when they came across one of the country's most notorious red-light districts in Hamburg. Majlak explained that around this time, Paul was battling with addiction and beginning to look worse for wear. He was also aggressive, threatening German gang members and demanding to be let in to a bar clearly closed to him.
Eventually, the group went to a different bar, this one with an arcade punching machine. Paul jumped in, explaining, "I see one of those arcade punching-boxing machines, I gotta set the high score! I'm a f****ing boxer, I got an ego, and that's my thing." Majlak said that the bartender interjected to tell Paul that the wall behind the machine was broken because so many would-be high score earners had accidentally punched it while overenthusiastically clobbering the punching bag. Still, Paul decided to press on, confident he wouldn't slam his fist into the wall.
But that's exactly what he did. "Immediately I knew I shattered my hand," Paul said. "I didn't know how bad it was – it's very bad – and I didn't set the high score." Paul filmed his injury before heading to the hospital, where he got the full report. The prognosis wasn't good, and doctors told Paul that this break could very well end his boxing days.
What's next for Paul?
For the most part, Paul didn't seem too upset that he may not be able to box again. He described the time as a "metamorphosis," saying, "After I fought Floyd, I had a bit of a 'what now' moment. Like, where do you go from there? Do I keep boxing?" Paul said he toyed with the idea of participating in another prize fight, but he ultimately wasn't sure if boxing would help him meet his goal of being the biggest entertainer on the planet.
Paul moved on from discussing boxing quickly, and he didn't seem to regret breaking his hand and ending his career. He went on to talk about his new NFT project, 99 Originals. Each day for 99 days, Paul took a picture on a Polaroid camera, which he will then sell as an NFT. Of course, his broken hand makes an appearance among the photos, just as Majlak said it would.
Many fans have scoffed at Paul's new project – which his broken hand story seemed to be hype for – because it sounds similar to his previous CryptoZoo NFT site. Oh, and his othercrypto site, Dinkdoink. Or his other other crypto site, Liquid Marketplace. Other viewers argued that people shouldn't celebrate vacation photos from someone who traveled the world during a global pandemic.
Regardless of one's stance on Paul's forays into NFTs or travel history, it seems he may have fully transferred his passion for boxing to his newer projects. Paul has framed this tragic break as a turning point that forced him to reevaluate what was important to him, which in the end, might have been just what he needed.