Ready or Not, Here They Come: The Paul Brothers Have Taken Boxing Hostage
If you’ve been living under a rock, Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather boxed last night. The card grabbed the attention of media due to the circus-like nature of it all. In addition to that, Logan’s brother, Jake Paul, had his next boxing match with Tyron Woodley announced earlier. Boxing fans can’t stand the thought of the Paul brothers having anything to do with their sport. Now, I don’t think they have any choice but to accept them. The Paul brothers have taken the sport of boxing hostage.
These boxing promoters really have Stockholm Syndrome with Jake and Logan Paul.
— Blaine Henry (@BlaineHenryTFL) June 7, 2021
When Logan Paul first started the YouTube boxing phenomenon, he took on fellow YouTuber KSI. It was an amateur bout that went to a draw and spawned a rematch of which Paul lost. But what fans didn’t realize was the fact that they were witnessing a hostile takeover of boxing.
Since the first night of YouTube/celebrity boxing, we’ve seen the amount of similar cards rise tenfold. Even Aaron Carter and Lamar Odom are going to box. But it’s nothing new. In 2017, Chris Brown and Soulja Boy were supposed to box, which never happened.
How did the Paul brothers take the ancient sport by hostage so easily? It’s simple, really. They backed themselves into the sport.
The Paul brothers and marketing
Most boxers come into the sport a nobody. They use the sport to build a fan base and sell tickets and eventually pay per views. It’s how Floyd Mayweather did it. Mike Tyson did it. Muhammad Ali did it. But the Paul brothers did not. Instead, they built their fame on the internet. Over years, Logan and Jake Paul have amassed millions of followers and understood how to leverage their audience to make them filthy stinking rich.
But as content creators, Logan and Jake Paul wanted more. Their turn was towards boxing. The business side of the sport was easy to woo, honestly. Boxing sluts itself out for a dollar and I’m sure you can guess what Jake and Logan had to offer: $$$. That first pay per view generated loads of money for the YouTubers that had promoters licking their chops wanting to get a piece of that pie. And eventually they would. DAZN, Triller and Showtime all would win purse bids to secure a fight card with boxing’s bastard children.
However, these promoters secretly love them. They don’t want you to know that, of course. According to the purists who buy their other pay per view cards, they’re bad for boxing. But the Paul brothers and their audience demand attention and they get it.
But don’t think for one second that this was a product of the promoters. On the contrary, it’s the Paul brothers’ leveraging their fans who will eat out of their palms. They call the shots; how else would you get a boxing match with a retired Floyd Mayweather?
The Paul brothers understand their leverage. They used their hordes of fans to buy their product, which in this case is a boxing match. The businessmen are all about it, who couldn’t stand to make a couple extra dollars?
Boxers Taken Hostage
Boxers have been taken hostage by the Paul brothers and the businessmen. If you believe that’s good or bad for the sport is a matter of opinion. But the fact remains that Logan and Jake Paul have taken the sport with their massive army of fans that watch everything they do.
Will these fans stick around and watch boxing after the Paul’s are done? Some will. Most won’t. And that’s okay.
I can’t say in good faith that Logan Paul’s fans will become fans of Luis Arias or Badou Jack. I feel as if they’re there for Logan only. But the fact remains that people watch Logan Paul and Jake Paul. Even after Logan Paul lost to KSI in the rematch, people still tuned in. Ready or not, here they come. This hype train isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
