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So now we have a cottage industry within the boxing business.
Well, actually two.
We’re saying that after the exhibition bout between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones, with the accompanying undercard, drew a reported 1.2 million pay-per-view buys, circumventing the conventional distribution channels and promoter options.
Drawing power has a way of doing that.
We’ll get around to the “old-timers” angle created by Tyson in another discussion. But it should be noted that this drawing power was generated in no small part through popular YouTuber Jake Paul, who has a following 20 million strong.
What to do with so many loyal viewers? Well, boxing comes to mind, right? After all, fans are used to seeing big events through a pay-per-view platform, and if they’ll do what you want, the possibilities are endless.
In the process of bringing out those followers, however, he’s also brought out the “purists” who wish he would just go away. It’s not just that they have a problem with him boxing; they are positively apoplectic that he is making a lot of money at it.
You see, as an “outsider,” such a thing is a great sacrilege.
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And so there are scores of Facebook “experts” who find Paul’s success as particularly unsavory, since he’s cashing in and there are “guys who dedicate their whole life to boxing who don’t make that kind of money….” and so on and so forth.
As if you get paid on that basis alone.
This isn’t the ditch-digging business. More effort doesn’t command more earnings. This is the who-wants-to-buy-what-you-have-to-sell business.
I don’t know whether it should come as a great surprise to me that the Facebook “experts” don’t seem to know how this business really works.
If you got into a room full of guys on the independent wrestling circuit they could explain it to you in rather definitive terms.
If you can draw people, you’ll draw money. If you can draw money, you’ll make money.
Simple as that.
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Oh, and then there are the fighters who feel that by way of having this or that title THEY are more deserving of the money.
Ah yes, another misconception – that a ‘championship’ somehow conveys an instant marketing expectation. While it is indeed true that titles can be important in establishing credibility, particularly if the fighter was previously unknown, it doesn’t suddenly convey exponentially higher value, in and of itself.
Years ago, that might have worked a little better, before the governing bodies so greatly watered down the whole thing with all these title belts. But not now. Again, that’s boxing shooting itself in the foot.
What Jake Paul and his brother Logan engage in – is that “bad for boxing”? There’s a lot of talk about that going around as well, especially as Logan purportedly will find himself in the ring with Floyd Mayweather next.
Boxing has always been a business of money-grabbing, so to paraphrase a movie title, it can do bad all by itself and doesn’t need a whole lot of help.
And I’m not so sure it is Jake Paul’s concern or obligation to do what is “good for boxing.” I spent about two decades in the business, and it was a rare occasion where I heard any promoter or fighter engage in an undertaking specifically because it was “good for boxing,” or avoid one because it was “bad.”
I wouldn’t claim to know everything that is “bad for boxing,’ but I do know some of it, and I have written about it. What’s bad? A Missouri promoter named John Carden knowingly put a “special needs” kid – a Special Olympian, in fact – into a fight against an experienced professional, where only fate prevented that poor young man from getting hurt seriously.
Yet, until that same promoter put his own wife, who was helpless and never had a legitimate pro fight, into a match against one of the world’s best, and was knocked out in seven seconds, did anyone really get angered over the guy. Why? Because it blew up on Twitter.
So I guess you’d call that outrage, fueled by pop culture.
Back to the Jake Paul situation, in the end, who’s kidding who? When did boxing become anything that was “pure”? It’s always had more than its share of gimmicks.
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Regarding the ineptitude of his opponent, former NBA player Nate Robinson, well, all I can tell you is that fighters have been building their records against substandard opponents for over a century. And let me offer some insight through a little personal experience.
You see, many moons ago I was a matchmaker in the industry, and when I would put together fights, handlers of “prospects,” more often than not, were interested in any information they could get on who their man was fighting. How tall is he? Is he righty or lefty? How many amateur fights did he have? What’s his style like? Can he hit with power? Where does he train? Who trains him? Can we see some footage of him?
And mind you, these are four-round fights where the opponents would be considered “low-level.” In other words, managers, trainers and promoters are cautious; they don’t want to take any chances if they don’t have to.
Now, I understand that Jake Paul’s two professional opponents were non-fighters. But the fact is, he didn’t know what they were going to look like in the ring. He didn’t really know how they were training or what they were learning. He didn’t know what kind of style they were employing. In fact, they probably knew more about HIM because some of the training sessions were naturally uploaded to YouTube.
And unlike the customary pro boxing atmosphere, these weren’t opponents who “knew the drill” and understood that there was very little expectation of success. They came with every intention of winning, not laying down and collecting a paycheck.
So to a considerable extent, there was a lot more “mystery” regarding Jake’s opponents than you would ever see for a fighter who had a lot of money at stake, and unquestionably more than any protected fighter going into his second pro encounter.
Plus, I know the kid was working hard in the gym. He got himself a trainer in BJ Flores, a former NBC color commentator who had been a ranked cruiserweight and heavyweight and was not there to waste his time. So they didn’t “disrespect” the process in any way.
And it follows that if the only thing people have against him is that he made a big payday, they should probably get off his back.
Now for the matter of Logan’s possible fight with Mayweather. I am sure this is something we’ll expand upon soon, but let me just say that while no one would dare call this a “legitimate” fight or even an interesting exhibition, it should really be a wake-up call for anyone who is involved in the promotion of boxing.
If you have followed along on Facebook, you’ll see that Jake is now getting “challenged” from all angles. This includes former champion Antonio Tarver, current champ Gervonta Davis and MMA star Conor McGregor. George Foreman wants to train Nate Robinson for a rematch of his two-round KO.
And Jake, to his credit, is getting a rise out of every tongue-in-cheek remark he is making, including the proposition that he might fight his own brother.
It’s like throwing raw meat into the lion’s cage. Whatever he tosses in there gets gobbled up.
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Gee, on the one hand he’s no good for the sport and completely illegitimate, but on the other hand there is a fighter with a 2-0 record who is generating more buzz than anyone in the game.
And by the way, you can make that a “times two,” since his brother Logan could probably do the same thing anytime he wants.
Most of this wouldn’t be happening if boxing did a better job selling itself, and selling its supposed “stars.” And if those “stars” did a better job selling themselves. Ever think of that?
So before any of the “purists” endeavor to complain, a little introspection might be in order.
