Furious boxing fans have accused Floyd Mayweather of throwing his fight with Logan Paul after footage of the legendary boxer appearing to hold up his opponent - rather than letting him slump to the canvas - emerged.
Mayweather, who could pocket $100m from the bout depending on TV revenues, dominated the contest at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami but was surprisingly unable to stop Paul, with the rookie surviving the full eight rounds of their exhibition bout.
But fight fans - who stumped up £17 each to watch the fight in the UK- have now hit out at Mayweather. They claim the undefeated 44-year-old deliberately stopped Paul from collapsing in order to extend the fight - despite landing a flurry of punches which looked to have ended the YouTuber's challenge.
The clip during the fight shows an exhausted Paul stepping back towards the ropes, before the social media sensation looked to thrust out a heavy right hand.
Mayweather was able to evade the hook with ease and responded with a blow of his own, crashing into Paul's head. The 26-year-old then slumped forward towards 'Money', who promptly unleashed an uppercut.
The odds were firmly stacked against Paul coming into the clash, and the evening looked to be over for him after he visibly sagged forward on to Mayweather.
Boxing fans have claimed that Logan Paul's bout with Floyd Mayweather may have been fixed
Rookie Paul was able to last the distance against legend Mayweather during their showdown
However, the clip shows Mayweather appearing to use both his arms to hold up his rival, stopping him from falling and preventing the fight from being stopped early.
And after the video surfaced on social media in the hours following the bout, some fans were left questioning whether Paul had indeed been knocked out by the former world champion boxer.
Paul himself joked that Mayweather may have let him 'survive'.
After the bout, he said: 'This is still one of the greatest moments of my life... damn, I'm happy. You never know with this guy, I'm going to go home thinking, "Yo, did Floyd let me survive?".'
Despite Mayweather being widely mocked for his failure to knock out Paul, a host of fans suggested he allowed Paul to go the full eight rounds because it would be better for Showtime's TV coverage - and their huge pay packets.
Paul slumped forwards onto Mayweather at multiple points during their widely-watched bout
Mayweather had control of the bout and Paul was forced to put his arms around him for respite
After riding out waves of pressure from Mayweather, Paul joked the rival had let him 'survive'
There were also claims the boxing legend and Paul could have agreed to go the distance in order to ensure neither man was disgraced in the ring and that both left with their reputations - and earning potential - intact.
Both fighters are certain to have taken home millions from the money-spinning encounter, but the exact amounts are not known.
The official figures are typically made public by the sanctioning commission - and for this fight that would be the Florida State Boxing Commission. However, due to the scrap between them being an exhibition, there are no confirmed fees.
Paul and Mayweather have not revealed what they will bank, either.
One person wrote on Twitter: 'The whole thing is rigged like WWE. It isn't sport, it's the equivalent of a soap opera in America. Embarrassing.'
A number of spectators took to social media to share their withering views on the spectacle
Another said: 'It was nothing but a joke and making a mockery of boxing.'
A third referenced Mayweather's star-studded bout with MMA big name Conor McGregor from 2017, and said: 'Same as the McGregor fight. They go a certain distance so none of them are disgraced. It's obvious.'
'You could tell he was going out cold by his head movement. It looked like he passed out,' a fourth believes.
The conspiracy theories continued with another fan joking Mayweather kept Paul up to guarantee a hefty windfall for both men after lasting the distance.
A sixth spectator held a similarly withering opinion, posting: 'No Logan, no. It's too early to drop. 100 million for eight rounds remember?'
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