Magazine Archives: From Tyson to Paul: The Boxing Circus Is Coming to Town (Patreon)

by Carlos Toro from FightfulMag.com issue 4

On a bright afternoon, under the sunny Miami weather, Floyd Mayweather Jr.was present for a press conference for a fight he had later that summer. Instead of facing off against any one of the sport’s top, young stars, he was instead promoting a fight, or rather an exhibition bout, against Logan Paul, who is far better known as a YouTuber than a pro boxer (Paul is 0-1 as a pro, with his lone loss coming at the hands of fellow social media star KSI). All over the world, fans and media panned the fight for its ridiculous nature and near-embarrassing promotion that some said hurt the sport’s legitimacy.

Yet, Mayweather and Paul’s exhibition, which took place on pay-per-view, was not an isolated event. Moreover, it’s a symptom of a popular and recent trend boxing has taken up, especially in the last few years. That trend is celebrities, social media influencers and non-boxers taking up gloves and fighting in the ring despite minimal to no actual boxing training.

One of the biggest reasons for the increase of celebrities and non-boxing athletes deciding to take a chance at pugilism is financial. The economic rewards one can reap can be quite massive, as shown in another strange fight Mayweather took, this time against a mixed martial artist.

Perhaps one of the most famous examples of a boxing fight involving a non-boxer was Mayweather’s 2017 scrap with former UFC champion Conor McGregor. By that point, Mayweather was two years into retirement and engaged in his role as a boxing promoter.

What brought Mayweather back into the ring for a fight against McGregor was the money that such a fantasy matchup could generate, and the end result justified Mayweather’s decision. The event sold more than four million pay-per-view units in the United States alone, and Mayweather earned a nine-figure payday.

From a boxing perspective, there was virtually no chance Mayweather was going to lose. Mayweather is one of boxing’s greatest defensive wizards and a technical savant with a resume only a few in history can match. People weren’t tuning in to see an all-time slugfest. Which then begs the question about why people did tune in if they knew McGregor was more than likely to lose?

Easy. The common folk gravitate towards stars and celebrities for almost any reason, and television networks take note of that. They know that there is an audience who will watch anything if it involves a certain number of people.

Regardless of whether or not a celebrity is well-liked, if they can generate ratings, the chances are that a television network will find a way to bring them aboard in some capacity. When it comes to boxing, even with the sport not having the same consistent mainstream relevancy as the NFL or NBA, few things in sport can match the drama and excitement a highly-anticipated boxing match can bring.

Such a tactic isn’t even new to the sport of boxing. In some way, shape or form, boxing has had a hand in involving itself in high-profile “freak show” fights. Arguably, the most famous example of such was in 1976 when boxing legend Muhammad Ali met pro wrestling royalty Antonio Inokiin a fight that was neither boxing nor pro wrestling, but some primitive, proto-MMA style.

Even if the actual fight was nothing to write home about, the sheer spectacle of it and the concept of a boxing champion mixing it up with a world-class pro wrestler captured the attention of the world. Although boxing has had its fair share of weird fights throughout its modern history, does that mean it has a place?

One can argue that the mainstream attention these fights receive will give boxing some much-needed eyeballs, with the hope that it can turn non-fans into followers of the sport. It’s why Showtime and Mayweather sought to put other rising boxers in a position to shine on the undercards, preparing the crowd for the main event.

Gervonta Davis might be the best example of this case. Davis, Mayweather’s protégé and a multi-time world champion, fought in the co-main event of Mayweather’s win over McGregor in Las Vegas. Having one of boxing’s biggest audiences of the 2010s witness Davis’ win over Francisco Fonsecathat night certainly created some new fans. After that fight, Davis went on to be a regular headliner for Showtime’s boxing broadcasts and has now followed in his promoter’s footsteps with main event pay-per-view broadcasts, becoming one of boxing’s fastest-rising superstars.

Davis’ involvement in the Mayweather vs. McGregor pay-per-view played a role in his current status as one of the few boxers today who can be given a pay-per-view main event spot and deliver. The fanbase Davis gained on that night was part of a grander plan Mayweather has for him in becoming this generation’s version of Mayweather in terms of being boxing’s top star.

That carefully-laid-out strategy does justify having non-boxers put in a position to headline events if only to give the rub to actual boxers who are on the cusp of breaking out into stardom. However, Davis is just one example, and it’s hard to find another boxer who can say they have benefited greatly from fighting on the same cards that feature YouTubers, musicians, and celebrities in actual fights.

With all the pomp and circumstance that comes with such big events, like Logan and Jake Paulboxing non-boxers and celebrities, there is an oft-forgotten aspect to these shows that no one discusses. It’s ironic because it centers on the sport these people engage in.

Boxing is a combat sport and is one that should never be treated lightly. The very nature of the sport involves people punching each other repeatedly in the face and to the body, potentially hundreds of times. The celebrities engaging in these types of fights are not boxers by trade. The Paul brothers have been training with other boxers, but they’re getting sanctioned by commissions to fight as pros, forgoing the usual route a boxer takes. This road usually involves going through the amateurs, which means fighting with headgear on.

Every time these people step into the ring, their lives are on the line. It’s not something people like to think about, but it is an ugly truth that will forever ring true. Trained pros and world-class fighters have lost their lives in the ring. In the span of a few months back in 2019, both Patrick Dayand Maxim Dadashev, accomplished boxers in their own right, died as a result of injuries sustained in a fight.

Knowing that tragic fact, go back to late 2020 when Jake Paul fought former NBA star Nate Robinson. Although Robinson was a tremendous athlete in his playing days, he had never boxed professionally. The image of Jake landing that right hand across Robinson’s chin and Robinson falling to the canvas was similar to Apollo Creedright as he died at the hands of Ivan Dragoin Rocky IV is no longer funny; it becomes concerning. Thankfully, Robinson came out of it okay, but there was a chance that the fight could have caused irreparable damage, damage that could’ve been avoided. But so long as these fights continue to generate money and a paying audience is present, they will never truly stop. People from all walks of life, for better and for worse, are signing up to box.

Lamar Odom, a former NBA champion who is 41-years-old, is set to fight former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe, who is 54-years-old, later this year. Knowing the potential risks of boxing, it makes little to no logical sense to even have this fight happen. It’s not only risky for both men’s physical well-being but also a sad sight for anyone who followed their respective careers to go and do what some may consider “garbage boxing.”

The reason why it’s happening is because there is an audience of people who are now looking to watch these fights. It’s all thanks to Mayweather vs. McGregor, the Paul brothers, and the recent escapades of Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. engaging in exhibition bouts.

The freak show aspect and the strangeness of it all is enough to captivate the attention of a suitable amount of people to justify putting these events together. The payday for the amount of work the participants have to put in is enough to bring people on board and either think they’re a real boxer or harken back to their glory days.

Even Oscar De La Hoya, who amassed a legendary boxing career, isn’t immune to the allure of the boom this subsection of boxing is undergoing. He’ll be coming out of retirement for his first pro fight since 2008 to fight none other than Vitor Belfort, a mixed martial artist who hasn’t fought since 2018. Sure, Belfort has a modicum of pro boxing experience, but that experience was one fight in 2006 that lasted just 61 seconds. Rather than have that fight be an exhibition, like Tyson vs. Jones was in late 2020, it will be an officially sanctioned pro bout.

If you’re a non-boxing celebrity undertaking one of these fights, is the payday truly worth putting your body in a position where the most highly-regarded pugilists lost their lives in the ring? To some, the answer is yes, and so long as that answer remains the same in even one of these people’s minds, these fights are not going away anytime soon.

Like it or not, the bizarre fights are here to stay. It does beg the question: does it have a place in the sport of boxing?

From a purely financial standpoint, the previously mentioned matches have presented a strong argument in its favor. Mayweather vs. McGregor was the pinnacle of the monetary value these shows can bring. As for the others, like Tyson vs. Jones and the Paul brothers, the mainstream and social media attention they’ve received far exceeds most boxing shows that feature active fighters who are properly trained in their craft.

While boxing broadcasts on major television networks have their viewership range anywhere from 200,000 to a million viewers, Tyson vs. Jones, which was an exhibition featuring two ex-pros in their fifties, reportedly had close to two million pay-per-view buys. There is an audience for this type of boxing, even if they don’t truly exemplify what “The Sweet Science” is all about.

Most of these non-boxers participating in them aren’t in it for the respect of the craft. They’re in it for the money, attention and opportunity to legally assault someone they dislike. In that regard, it is easy to understand why pundits and some fighters believe it takes away from what the real pros do and tarnishes the sport. They believe these fights present a danger to the participants and defames the long, cherished history and tradition of boxing.

However, an argument can be made that many people watching these fights don’t think about its effect on boxing and only want to see more of those involved, regardless of the sport or vehicle used. It wouldn’t hurt the sport of MMA if all these fights took place in that manner instead of boxing. In this author’s opinion, boxing won’t suffer because of celebrities as if that’s the only thing keeping boxing back. The excessive amount of championship belts being paraded as “world titles,” promoters bickering with one another instead of making the best fights possible, fighters more worried about protecting their zero in the loss column instead of chasing the biggest challenges possible; those issues plague boxing far more than a YouTuber thinking he is a pro boxer.

If there’s an argument against these types of boxing fights happening, it’s that they perpetuate the idea that anyone can just put on a pair of gloves and call themselves a boxer. The amount of time needed to dedicate one to the sport and be properly trained is immense. One isn’t ready to get into the ring with only a few weeks of training. Robinson learned that the hard way, and he’s lucky to still be alive, but some other celebrity might not be so fortunate. It is never the desire of anyone watching the sport or participating in it to see anyone get seriously hurt, but there is no avoiding it.

People will get hurt in the ring, and if there’s a way to avoid untrained people recklessly throwing themselves into the ring for money and attention, all the better. In that sense, these fights are not good for boxing, but they will forever be a part of its history. And whether it becomes a footnote or an entire chapter in the never-ending book of boxing that remains to be seen.

Carlos Toro has quickly emerged into one of the top boxing journalists and has worked with Fightful since 2016, covering MMA and pro wrestling. He also handles financial analysis for the site.

Twitter: @CarlosToroMedia