The Final Straw
As time ticks closer to Jake Paul and Nate Diaz’s fight in Dallas, it also ticks towards the inevitable collapse of the very scene it represents.
Maybe we really are reaching the final straw.
And no, I don’t say that in great celebration. My belief has always been relatively simple - both boxing and its influencer counterpart can co-exist.
It doesn’t have to be in harmony, of course. The obstinate determination of boxing’s ‘hardcore’ to pin the sport’s problems on influencer boxing is actually quite admirable.
Failing drug tests and ducking big fights are clearly just afterthoughts.
In all seriousness, however, it does feel as if we are coming towards a crucial period in the timeline of this influencer scene.
Boxing and the world of entertainment have always gone hand-in-hand. If anything, the ability to attract superstars to fight nights has been paraded as something of a trophy.
NFL quarterback, rapper, business tycoon, TV personality - they’ve all been there. But it was always at the harsh reality of boxing in which these famous faces drew the line.
Yet the fearless, dynamic crop of entertainers under the ‘influencer’ banner have since taken things to the other side of the rope.
Its biggest names have been exhibited to new audiences, whilst it’s their old audiences who have helped draw in huge viewing figures. It has been a successful five or six years.
But, like anything, there are the two or three figureheads who lead the way.
Over this side it began with enemies turned business partners, KSI and Logan Paul, before the latter’s brother, Jake, decided boxing was his calling too.
KSI fought Logan and won - not before the pair had shared a draw - whilst Jake Paul fought one of KSI’s friends, AnEsonGib, a now highly regarded influencer boxer himself.
Jake was victorious, and began to build on his reputation by fighting an ex-basketball star and several veterans from the world of mixed martial arts.
But despite their other endeavours, it was becoming clear that nothing would match up to the demand of seeing KSI and Jake get it on themselves.
Along came Tommy Fury. Boxer, influencer, and brother to the sports’ biggest character - he would fit like a glove. The only problem? The man can actually fight.
Scrap that, no problem at all.
Tommy and Jake’s rivalry flourished, peaking with a PPV fight in Saudi Arabia, and selling over 800,000 buys. It was the boxer in Tommy who had his hand raised.
Whilst Jake has returned to his bread-and-butter of over-the-hill mixed martial artists, Tommy, the new crown prince, chased a fight with KSI. In October they will meet.
It will also, in KSI’s own words, be his last fight. A last fight he definitely doesn’t win.
So, once November rolls around, will there be anything of significance remaining? Or, is the circle enclosing on boxing’s newest trend?
It is a question we cannot answer until fights have been had.
Still, all eyes will be on Jake Paul and Nate Diaz this weekend in Dallas, with added interest on how Jake will return after his first defeat to Tommy Fury back in February.
It is all extremely exciting.
Oscar Bevis
PURCHASE TICKETS FOR IFL LIVE BY CLICKING THE PHOTO AND USING THE CODE “IFLLIVE” TO GET YOUR PRE-SALE TICKETS!