Although there were two interesting fights on the card with Daniel DuBois appearing in a squash match and talented junior welterweight Montana Love making his first major step against world-class boxers against former IBF champion Ivan Baranchyk, it lacked enough to do a boxing challenge for the card.
The good news? Boxing sells when it has a marketable fighter and for whatever one wants to say about the traveling roadshow that comes with Jake Paul, his true ability as a boxer, and that he hasn't paid his dues from the lower end of a card, one has to admit that he appeals to a certain demographic and he is very marketable to that crowd.
A sellout in Cleveland at the home of the Cavaliers showed that Paul draws a crowd but it does make you wonder what happens ( And I have a pretty good idea of what does) when Paul fights even a decent six-round level pro boxer and what happens to the crowd and pay per view numbers in the fight after he loses?
Will Paul's cache with the buy rate and at the box office continue once people have seen him get his comeuppance? That is your key and once that happens you may have to place a significant fight on the card with Paul possibly even down the card a bit to be able to approach the numbers that are being drawn right now.
An easy take is that Paul's events are bringing new exposure to the sport and it could be true.
However, the added eyes that come to see Jake Paul only matter long-term if they become fans and purchase other events and that only comes if they get hooked on better fighters and fights.
And that comes with better fighters on those cards to be exposed to those new viewers so will the top fighters come on a "Jake Paul card" or will Paul as the established "draw" be willing to be on an undercard of a top fight?
Those questions will need to be answered and shown before Jake Paul's true value to the boxing business beyond his own fights can be truly known.
What's the bad news for boxing?
It's that at a time that boxing cannot make some of its best fights that outside of Canelo Alvarez, it is a tattooed kid from Ohio with no boxing background that is arguably the best draw in the game.
The solution to that is easier said than done using the Tully Blanchard theory of "you put the best against the best" but at a time when the fracture extends beyond the usual promoters and networks through the sanctioning bodies to make the problem even worse than normal.
Money goes where money is and no matter your opinion of Jake Paul as a boxer, his opponents, or as a person for that matter. it would be delusional to deny his influence on the game at the current time.
Boxing has always been a magnet for the occasional freak show ( and don't let the old-timers like me tell you differently) as George Foreman vs five foes in one night, Ed "Too Tall" Jones in his year in boxing, Lyle Alzado facing Muhammad Ali at Mile High Stadium, Eric "Butterbean" Esch's career that actually has the names of both Larry Holmes and wrestling's "Bart Gunn" on his resume' are just a few oddball events in boxing.
Jake Paul is just the latest carny act among many in the history of boxing but he may be the most successful of the non-athlete attempts at the sport.
Paul is making his attempt at perhaps the perfect time for a person from the non-athletic world- the social media age where talking about what a great fighter you are is more important than being one.
And for what it is worth- and this announcement is so boxing. On August 30th Jake Paul tweeted his retirement from boxing.
On his way to another grift, I'm sure...
No comments:
Post a Comment