Currently, boxing is said to have its lowest fan engagement and declining viewers. This may be in part due to the rise of the UFC. Recently, however, celebrity and crossover exhibition fights have caught the attention of both casual and extreme fans.
The cinematic storylines and fear of the unknown make for brilliant television. With celebs such as KSI, Jake Paul, Logan Paul and Nate Robinson already stepping in the ring for exhibition fights under professional rules.
Jake fought and knocked out an experienced fighter in Ben Askren recently, leaving the door of possibility open to fights between celebrities and professional fighters as dangerous as that sounds. I for one am here for the drama!
The beautiful carnage that we witnessed in the Jake v Robinson fight led to some of the funniest memes and reactions on social media. Lest we forgot the massive exhibition between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones.
Unfortunately, this mega-fight never happened whilst the fighters were in their prime, but people were hooked by nostalgia and the excitement of a famous ‘Mike Tyson fight night’.
When Did This All Begin?
When people talk about the first big exhibition in boxing, they point to the big spectacle fight between Mohammed Ali and pro wrestler Antonio Inoki in Tokyo, 1976.
However, in recent times, the era of celebrity and cross-over exhibition fights came alive after the Connor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather fight. The build-up to that fight was epic, to say the least.
A mega-fight between the biggest name in MMA and the biggest name in boxing for the past decade. It was certainly enough to make fans all over the world stay up late (unless you were like me and conked out right before the main event) and buy the pay-per-view (PPV).
This event had more than 4.3 million PPV buys, the second most in PPV history! Not bad at all.
Is Boxing Dying?
Unlike fighters from the MMA world, most celebrities have little to zero experience in high-quality bouts. In fact, many fighters have described their transition to pro boxing as life-threatening and demeaning to boxing.
There is certainly a higher risk of fatalities when experienced professionals fight celebrities however that risk evens out between two celebrities of similar experience.
One thing is for sure: it brings a lot of eyes to boxing. Which can only be a positive right? It is important to remember that many of these celebrities are influencers and have large respective fan bases.
For many of their fans, these exhibitions will be how they get invested in boxing as the sport becomes a lot more relatable. Boxing is one of those sports that have way more fans than people who box for fun (you can probably guess why), so celebrity boxing makes the sport a lot more personal.
Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul
One of the strangest bouts of boxing ever made sees Floyd Mayweather – the greatest boxer of his generation, take on Logan Paul – a YouTuber.
Although Logan has the height, weight, reach and age advantage, one would think this will be a walk in the park for the fighter Floyd, right? This fight will take place June 6 and although there has and will be many critics, everybody will have their eyes on that event!
Especially after all the antics of Logans younger brother Jake (of which has been confronted by the likes of Daniel Cormier), it is safe to say the fighting community will not be backing the Paul brothers against an actual fighter (or anyone for that matter).
Who would have thought that these two people would be mentioned in the same sentence let alone share a ring together? Nevertheless… let the entertainment begin!
Written by Joshua Iyobhebhe (InZone Plug)