Floyd Mayweather is set to lose almost half of his Instagram followers if the platform follow Twitter in purging fake users.
The boxing legend is the most followed star from the sport on the platform and has a total of 28.5million fans on the platform. In a recent statement, new Twitter kingpin Elon Musk confirmed his new project would be to purge fake accounts and 'bots', which could see Meta-owned Instagram follow a similar ploy for their social media site.
According to a new study conducted by Betway on the potential fake-following purge, around 12.7 million of Mayweather's overall following are seen as spam accounts. This could see him lose up to 45 per cent of his followers and leave him with around 15.8million in total.
YouTube star Jake Paul could lose a similarly large portion of his followers with 8.8million of his 21.3million-strong following deemed fake. His brother, Logan, will also take a big hit on his following, with 25 per cent of his 21million followers regarded as spam accounts which could be removed.
British heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could lose a chunk of their following with 26 per cent and 28 per cent of each respective following eligible for the purge. Meanwhile, Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao could also lose around 24 per cent after their respective retirements from the sport, although the latter will fight in exhibitions.
Musk confirmed his intentions to eradicate the fake accounts during a tweet from his own account, writing: "If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying! And authenticate all real humans." He could even lose up to 12million of his own followers with any move, which Instagram could proceed with if their rival platform are successful.
Who would you like Floyd Mayweather to face in an exhibition next year? Let us know in the comments section below.
Mayweather is arguably the highest-achieving and most popular fighter in the modern era, having retired with an untarnished record of 50-0 as a professional. His profile saw him draw in some of the highest pay-per-view audiences in history, with his fights against Pacquiao and Conor McGregor commanding mega viewing figures.
Now, he continues to compete in the exhibition ranks, where he has fought five times, taking on the likes of YouTube stars Deji and Logan Paul along with former sparring partner Don Moore. It is expected that he will continue to accept the fights next year, as he is eyeing five further outings in 2023.
"In 2023 we are doing Japan again, then Hawaii, Saudi Arabia, Africa and Abu Dhabi," Mayweather said. "We get calls every day and it all depends on what I want to do. But I have a great team and everyone played a major role in this event happening. They are getting me up every day and making sure is in certain positions so I am able to live comfortably."
