Charizard had a front row seat to last night’s boxing match between YouTuber Logan Paul and legend Floyd Mayweather. The pair went eight rounds and though Mayweather landed the majority of the punches, he couldn’t put Paul on the mat.
“It’s a BGS 10 Charizard, first edition Charizard,” Paul said in a post-fight interview. “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. It’s my prized possession. Estimated value? Now? Shit, this is a million dollar card, baby. This is the card that I walked out with to the Floyd Mayweather fight. This is a million dollar card. Get a close up.” Paul was wearing the card during the interview and he held it up so press could get a picture.
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By wearing the card into the ring and declaring a value for it, it’s possible Paul has helped drive up the price of his Charizard up from the $226,000 he spent on it in October. The Pokémon is further proof of Paul’s assertion that his fight against Mayweather was “fucking stupid.” Everyone made money, no one got hurt, and people got excited about boxing for the first time in a long time. Showing off his mint condition Charizard was an added bonus for Paul, who is estimated to have made millions from the fight.
Charizard’s front row seat for the saddest fight in the history of the sweet science is but another story in the great Pokémon card crisis of 2021. Prices of the cards are up across the board, Target has stopped selling them because it fears for the safety of its customers, local card stores have placed limits on what customers can buy, and the people who professionally grade the cards are years behind.
Paul is partly responsible for the sudden frenzy around Pokémon cards. Over the past year he’s made several videos hyping up Pokémon cards as a nostalgic investment opportunity.