Le’Veon Bell and Logan Paul will not be meeting in the boxing ring anytime soon, and depending on who you believe, the reason is either a genuine contractual restriction or an elaborate way to avoid a fight. Paul went public this week with the claim that WWE contacted him directly to inform him that his existing contract with the company prevents him from pursuing a boxing bout against the former NFL running back. Bell has responded by accusing Paul of manufacturing the entire phone call as a convenient excuse.
The dispute has played out largely on social media, with both men trading pointed messages and keeping their growing audience engaged in a back-and-forth that may or may not lead anywhere near an actual boxing ring.
How the challenge started
The sequence began when Paul made a declaration on his podcast Impaulsive that he would pay $1 million to any NFL player capable of defeating him in a fight. The offer was the kind of provocative public statement Paul has built a career around, and it landed exactly as intended drawing immediate attention and prompting responses from several directions.
Bell, who has a professional boxing record of 2-1 and won his most recent exhibition bout in November, was among those who took the challenge seriously. He responded directly and pushed for the fight to be formalized, going as far as asking Paul to send over a contract for the proposed matchup. The prospect of a fight between two athletes who have both crossed over into boxing from other careers generated genuine fan interest, and for a moment the bout appeared to have real momentum.
WWE steps in and shuts it down
Paul’s account of what happened next involves a phone call from a WWE representative identified only as Chris, who informed him that the match was not permitted under the terms of his contract with the company. According to Paul’s telling of the conversation during a live stream, he pushed back before ultimately deferring to WWE’s position and expressing his loyalty to the organization as a priority above his individual boxing ambitions.
Paul framed his response to WWE in terms that emphasized his reliability as a contracted talent, indicating he would follow the company’s direction even when it conflicted with personal interests. It was a notably cooperative tone from someone whose public persona is generally built around doing things his own way.
Bell is not convinced
Le’Veon Bell rejected Paul’s account entirely. He accused Paul of staging the phone call suggesting that the WWE restriction story was a fabricated cover designed to allow Paul to back away from a fight he was not actually prepared to take. Bell’s accusation is not subtle: he is publicly calling Paul’s explanation a performance rather than a genuine logistical obstacle.
The accusation carries some weight simply because the structure of the situation does benefit Paul. A WWE contractual restriction is a clean, face saving reason to decline a fight without having to acknowledge reluctance or concern about the opponent. Whether that is what actually happened or whether the restriction is legitimate and straightforwardly applied is something only Paul and WWE know with certainty.
Logan Paul’s boxing career in context
Paul’s history in the sport gives him legitimate credentials to point to when accepting or declining fights. He faced boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition bout in 2021 that ended without a declared winner a result that nonetheless demonstrated Paul could survive a full card against one of the sport’s all time greats. He defeated Dillon Danis in 2023 in a match that attracted significant attention, adding a genuine win to his record.
Bell’s 2-1 professional record and active training schedule made him a credible opponent rather than a novelty, which is part of what made the proposed fight interesting to fans in the first place. A matchup between two athletes who have both taken boxing seriously enough to compete professionally would have carried more substance than the typical celebrity boxing card.
Where things stand now
For the moment, Paul remains under WWE’s restrictions and Bell remains publicly skeptical about whether those restrictions are the real reason for the fight’s collapse. The social media exchange between the two has kept the topic alive and has not definitively closed the door on the possibility of the match happening at some future point when Paul’s contract situation may be different.
Paul has given no indication that he intends to push back against WWE’s position, and the company has not made any public statement about the situation. Bell, for his part, has made clear he remains ready and willing and that his challenge to Paul stands regardless of what WWE‘s calendar looks like.
