There wasn’t a knockout in tonight’s Logan Paul versus Floyd Mayweather exhibition fight. One clear winner did emerge: Pokémon card collectors, Paul included.
When the YouTuber entered the ring, he wore a Charizard card around his neck the way other fighters would wear gold and diamonds. The card is a first edition, gem mint 10-graded Charizard. This was probably the most interesting moment of the whole evening.
During the past year, the prices of Pokémon cards, which were already high, seem to have exploded. Twitch streamers have been buying boxes and streaming as they opened each pack. All this interest has meant that The Pokémon Company cannot print the cards fast enough.
Paul got in on the act, too, big time and has been making videos like “I Bought A $200,000 Box Of Pokémon Cards”; “I Spent $2,000,000 On Pokémon Cards,” and “Opening The $1,000,000 1st Edition Pokemon Box.” Out of his last ten YouTube uploads, four were about Pokémon cards.
Last October, Paul visited Gary Haase, the King Pokémon, and spent $150,000 on a Charizard, which is certainly worth more now.
At the time, the YouTuber said, “Pokémon is blowing up. I have no doubt in my mind that this card will be worth a million dollars between two and three years from now.”
“They’re called appreciating assets,” Paul continued. “I’m done buying Lamborghinis. I’m done buying stuff that won’t make me money.”
Paul has been spending big money on unopened boxes, pulling first edition Charizards last fall and earlier this year during livestreams. It seems that the card he wore into the fight could be one of those as it was graded by Beckett and not PSA like his previous purchase. Whichever the card, he wants to ensure it’s an appreciating asset.
By wearing a Charizard out to the fight and to the press conference that followed, Paul did just that: made himself more money. Even though the fight itself was gross and dull, when Paul eventually flips the Charizard, and he will, the card itself is now inherently more valuable.
Some of the value he and others will assign to it will be that he wore it to this fight—the last time, as of now, Floyd Mayweather stepped into the ring. The bout, whatever you may think of it, has become part of the card’s provenance and lore. How much it adds, I’m not sure. Paul believes it’s already worth a cool million.
When asked about the card following the fight and its estimated value, he replied, “It’s a BGS 10 Charizard, first edition Charizard. It’s one of three in the world. It is my prized possession. Ever since I got this graded at a ten, the momentum in my life has been crazy. It’s my good luck charm.”
Paul held up the card to show the press, adding, “I mean now, shit, this is a million-dollar card, baby. This is the card I walked out [with] to the Floyd Mayweather fight. This is a million-dollar card.”
Tonight, a cocky YouTuber and an aging pugilist threw some punches, grappled, and collected massive payouts. It’s was an exhibition bout. A stunt. A show. But maybe, just maybe the main event was that Pokémon trading cards just reached an even larger audience, making valuable ones like gem mint Charizards even more so.
Update Jun 7 - 8:00 AM: More background added, including information on Paul pulling other Charizards and clarification about the graded version worn to the fight.