Given how prominent some sporting events with content creators have become, it would be fair to assume that this could be classified as the future of those given sports. This could be seen to be the case in boxing, although bouts between creators may never be seen as legitimate. Here’s why.
When it comes to prime examples of such matches, the likes of the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight invite audiences from both sides of the spectrum here. On one hand, there’s the YouTube crowd that are likely to support the American creator, and on the other, comes the more traditional lot of people that are interested in the fighting side, who will root for Askren.
What makes this particular bout more interesting than any other previous ones thus far, is shown when it comes to the associated Jake Paul vs Ben Askren betting. The fight is being tipped to be one that is more of a fair contest than one might expect, given the close odds of 4/5 for Paul and 10/11 for Askren that just tip the fight the way of the former mixed martial artist. This can lead to the fight being seen as more of a legitimate matchup than even the infamous Mayweather vs. McGregor fight a few years ago. The fight was tipped by many to be a write-off for Conor McGregor as he was expected to get thrashed by the 50-0 veteran boxer, and was therefore classed more as entertainment than straight-up fighting.
With matchups such as Paul vs. Askren being classified as a more even matchup than first expected, it does lend itself to silencing the critics. This is furthered by the fact that Jake Paul has more fighting experience than one might expect, and, even though it’s not as much as Askren, this might be important when the fight comes around. As well as having his first and only amateur fight against Deji, otherwise known as ComedyShortsGamer, or KSI’s brother, Paul since went professional. So far, he has fought against, and bet, AnEsonGib, and also the professional basketball player Nate Robinson on the undercard for Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.
However, it could be argued that the inter-YouTuber fights that spawned this era of YouTuber boxing are more concerned with the entertainment value as opposed to real boxing pedigree. Whilst such events have opened up the sport to a new audience and capacity crowds at arenas on both sides of the Atlantic do exhibit the popularity of such, boxing purists could state that they go against the spirit of the sport and question the overall legitimacy of such events.
Usually, professional fighters will train for many years in order to get a headlining slot for a title. In the case of Anthony Joshua for instance, he got his first big break at the London 2012 Olympics and had to then wait another five years after turning professional for that big matchup against Klitschko that propelled him to superstardom. For Jake Paul however, he didn’t have the long wait to turn professional, as, for him, it only occurred after one fight and a year’s worth of experience. Therefore, it is perhaps understandable to the purists that fights between those who have not gone through the proper channels and methods could be considered as illegitimate.
Even with the fact that fights between YouTubers may not be as legitimate as the more traditional boxing matchups, there’s no denying that such events have opened up the sport to an entirely new audience. This could lead to further interest in boxing overall regardless of the competitors, although the popularity of YouTubers may just increase its overall draw.