To some, it was the return of "hard work and dedication."

To others, it surely teetered closer to "cash grab and manipulation."

Either way, Floyd Mayweather was back in a boxing ring Sunday night for the first time in nearly four years.

But rather than facing a traditional foe or even a fellow combat athlete dipping his toe into a new discipline, the former five-weight champion found himself swapping punches with a social media kingpin.

Logan Paul, he of the bratty persona and huge following on YouTube and Instagram, stepped up to the exhibition challenge against Mayweather atop a unique four-bout card from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

The pay-per-view show went for $49.99, was carried by Mayweather's long-time colleagues at Showtime and also included two traditional bouts alongside another exhibition featuring former NFL All-Pro Chad Johnson.

The B/R combat sports team took it all in and came up with a definitive list of winners and losers from a memorable night at the circus in South Florida. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments section.

Winner: The Paul Brothers Empire

It wasn't anyone's idea of a master class.

But if you thought Logan Paul would show up and simply be beaten from ring post to ring post by a real, accomplished fighter, you thought wrong.

The 26-year-old wasn't exactly a stylish performer, but he did land enough and take enough to survive eight full rounds with Floyd Mayweather in their high-profile main event.

Mayweather, who reportedly made more than $50 million for the 24 minutes, landed 43 punches to 28 for Paul across the eight rounds. He fared better in the first two rounds when he was full of energy, but slowed noticeably after the third round when Mayweather connected with a series of hard body shots.

"I'm not 21 anymore, but it's good," Mayweather said. "He's better than I thought he was. I was surprised by him tonight, but I had fun."

The final five rounds looked largely the same, with Mayweather pursuing behind a high guard and Paul being hit by the harder, flashier shots. Still, Paul was never seriously hurt and never looked in imminent danger of being dropped or stopped.

And anything other than annihilation was deemed a victory by his side.

"I don't want anyone to tell me anything is impossible ever again," Paul said. "Everyone has it in them. and don't let anyone tell you different."

As for Mayweather, he said, "He's old but he's tough to hit."

The result prompted the predictable questions about whether Mayweather would sign for a bout with Paul's higher-profile brother, Jake, who's won three professional bouts against a YouTuber, a retired NBA player and an ex-MMA fighter.

Mayweather, who last fought an official bout in 2017, was non-committal.

"We don't know what the future holds," he said. "But we'll talk with the team and see where we go."

Loser: Chad Johnson's Boxing Future

He looked the part. He sounded the part.

And for a couple rounds against non-descript Brian Maxwell, Chad Johnson even fought the part.

But by the time his eight minutes with the ex-MMA and Bare Knuckle participant were complete, one thing was clear beyond any doubt: Chad Johnson might want to try something else.

Because boxing ain't his thing.

The six-time Pro Bowl participant was gassed by the time the final round began and dumped hard by a right hand by the time it ended, but got up and survived to finish the abbreviated exhibition contest.

"When your arm folds up under you, you don’t know where you are," said Nice Desus, who shared the broadcast microphone with talk show co-host The Kid Mero. "He got up and he thought he was at Publix."

Maxwell landed 17 punches to Johnson's 14 across four rounds.

"I want to thank God for keeping me safe out here and for allowing me to check this off my bucket list," said Johnson, who's played soccer, ridden a bull and performed in the WWE since playing his last NFL game for the New England Patriots at Super Bowl XLVI. "It's a lesson for people who are afraid to do things. Don't be scared to fail. it's OK. I lost my virginity tonight. And it was fun. I think I'm ready for McGregor."

For his sake, it'd better if he meant Ewan McGregor.

Winner: Badou Jack's Luck

Already an ex-champion in two weight classes, Badou Jack was anxious to stay relevant.

But when a scheduled bout with fellow former titleholder Jean Pascal was nixed by the Quebec-based Haitian's positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, he simply wanted to stay successful.

It didn't wind up as memorable as it might have been against Pascal, but a fourth-round KO of short-notice foe Dervin Colina served the latter purpose and kept the now-37-year-old on track for bigger things.

"I've just got to be patient. This is God's plan. I've just got to keep pushing," Jack said. "He was a little soft in the body. He was supposed to fight next week but there are different levels to boxing."

Jack was moderately effective against the sloppy Venezuelan through the first three rounds, then dropped the previously unbeaten 33-year-old three times in the fourth to get the automatic KO.

The fight ended at 2:57 of the fourth.

"That's my goal, to become a three-division world champion," said Jack, who said he plans to move up to cruiserweight after title wins at 168 and 175 pounds. "I'm almost 38 and I don't like to cut weight anymore."

Loser: Pre-Fight Promises

If you were sitting in the rain in Miami or watching the show on TV, one question persisted:

Where was everybody?

Though the pre-fight promotional hype machine churned out promises of a crowd approaching 60,000 fans, it seemed like only a fraction of that as the night continued.

And while Twitter was abuzz with memes and funny photos mocking the apparent absence of the would-be jam-packed attendance, the platform was also intermittently full of complaints about the live streams.

The pay-per-view was available via Showtime.com and Fanmio.com.

The aforementioned rain also impacted the actual fights, prompting several stoppages to wipe down the canvas and creating a knockdown when Luis Arias slipped in his bout with Jarrett Hurd.

“The boxing gods may be telling us all something tonight," Showtime's Mauro Ranallo said.

Winner: Luis Arias' Career Arc

You might think he won. You might think he lost.

But whatever you thought of the result of his scheduled 10-rounder with ex-154-pound world champion Jarrett Hurd on Sunday's undercard, you have to believe Luis Arias exceeded expectations.

The 30-year-old arrived in Miami as a significant underdog and hadn't won a professional bout in nearly four full years, incurring his two career losses alongside a draw in three fights since then. In Hurd, he was facing a far more accomplished foe than any he'd beaten while climbing to 18-0 from 2012 to 2017.

Consider that narrative officially changed, thanks to Arias' split-decision victory.

He won two cards by counts of 97-93 and 96-93, while one saw Hurd a 95-94 winner.

"Thanks to Floyd Mayweather for believing in me," said Arias, who was back with Mayweather's promotional team after being released during his three-fight skid.

"I came in here to challenge the No. 1 guy at 154 and I was able to edge the decision. I never quit on myself. People close to me were telling me to get a job. But don't ever quit on yourself."

Arias landed 163 punches to Hurd's 151, though the former three-belt claimant scored the lone knockdown with a right hand as Arias was slipping on wet canvas in the ninth round.

"This was not the kind of fight Jarrett Hurd wanted. It was the kind of fight Luis Arias wanted," Showtime's Al Bernstein said. "It was the best fight of Arias' career, by far."

Hurd started 23-0 and won four title bouts before losing a surprising unanimous decision to Julian Williams in May 2019. He'd fought just once since then and lost his father, Fred, earlier this year.

"I believe I won the fight," he said. "The plan was to come in here and box, but we couldn't move around because the ring was slippery. We had to stand and fight."

Loser: Traditional Boxing

Jim Lampley won't call it permanent.

But at least for the time being, the ex-HBO boxing voice told Bleacher Report, the traditional practice of the sweet science will be under siege by those who viewed Sunday's show as a more attractive option.

"(It could) cheapen the image of the sport in the minds of people whose view is limited enough that they identify it as boxing," he said. "It isn't. Just another example of the societally corruptive power of social media. Until people realize they are being ripped off it will persist, driven by social media.

"An institution that gains identify by destroying conventional standards."

Lampley worked several Mayweather fights with the "Network of Champions" and on HBO's pay-per-view arm before the fighter took his talents to Showtime in 2013.

Now 72, Lampley continued with HBO until its departure from the full-time boxing business in 2018.

He recently became the lead blow-by-blow voice of the Triller Fight Club and will debut with the group when he works Teofimo Lopez's bout with George Kambosos on June 19 in Miami.

Triller broke into the business with the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. exhibition in November.

Lampley said Mayweather is rare in that he can pull off a show like Sunday's, but not many others can.

Many expect Logan Paul's younger brother, Jake, to be next in line for the 44-year-old.

"Floyd is unique," he said. "No other fighter has the willful creativity to be this shameless in public. They envy his money but they don't really admire the way he earns it."