You all heard about it. You all had your feelings about it. You all know the people. On Friday, Nov. 15, well-known influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul took on boxing legend Mike Tyson in an eight round match. The influencer challenged Iron Mike to a fight back in March that was originally scheduled for July 20; however it was postponed due to Tyson having an ulcer flare-up. The fight resulted in a unanimous Jake Paul victory after the entire eight rounds.
Now let’s discuss the reality of this fight. You may have seen on social media different radical takes on the fight, such as Tyson would easily beat Paul, or that if Paul wins then the fight was rigged. I say that the fight should have never happened at all. Iron Mike hasn’t fought in nearly 20 years and is getting old. If you watched the fight you could see that his age was showing. His health was not 100 percent, as he had the ulcer flare earlier this year. If you also look at Jake Paul’s fights, specifically the ones where he challenged someone rather than being scheduled, you notice that all of the people he fights are older and out of their physical primes. It’s an act for clout and for more fame, which could be negative for Paul in the long run.
In 2018, YouTube star KSI had a boxing match against Joe Weller, where in the post-fight interview KSI called out both Jake and Logan Paul. That led to Paul and others calling out influencers over the last couple years.
It’s not just Paul though. These influencers participate in these fights against icons or other influencers as a publicity stunt, and I think that is disrespectful to the sport of boxing. These YouTubers and TikTokers train for little amounts of time for one fight, while there are fighters who have trained their whole lives for the sport because that is all they had.
All in all, the fight was an unnecessary publicity stunt that ruined the reputation of the great Mike Tyson.
Teddy Steinberg can be contacted at
tsteinberg@kscequinox.com
