What Are We Doing Here?
- Benjamin Furnish
- Nov 24
- 6 min read
In 2017, Anthony Joshua was the Unified Heavyweight champion of the world, an Olympic gold medalist, with a professional record of 19-0.
He had just come off an all-time award-winning fight of the year against a legend of the sport, Wladimir Klitschko. Joshua had amassed over $50 million in career earnings, becoming a global superstar and the face of boxing.
In 2017, Jake Paul released his famous hit “It’s Everyday Bro” featuring Team 10.
Fast forward eight years, and these two are set to stand across from each other in the ring, in what may be the biggest boxing event since Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor.
How did we get here? In what universe does a former world heavyweight champion and boxing icon agree to fight a YouTuber?
Most of the world hates it. They think it’s a circus, a "clown show", a rigged event set up for the sheer goal of profit.
At the end of the day, people may not like it or even respect it. But Jake Paul is in unprecedented territory. What he’s doing has never been done before, and it may never be replicated again.
Jake Paul
In 2018, the first-ever “YouTube Boxing Match” took place. People labelled it a one-time event to resolve online beef; nothing more.
What we didn’t know was that this would open the door to a near-billion-dollar industry, and promoters licked their lips at the prospect.
From there, various YouTubers chose this route to resolve online conflicts, but one YouTuber turned the industry from a joke into a globally recognized powerhouse.
Jake Paul was, and still is, one of the most controversial online figures in the world. Paul’s fame skyrocketed from funny pranks and dangerous stunts on Vine and YouTube, and he quickly rose to global stardom.
But, as fast as Paul rose, he fell twice as hard.
Various arrests, coupled with online controversy, caused Paul to spiral, and he needed to pivot fast.
In 2018, he and his brother Logan Paul were on one side of the legendary beef between them and British YouTubers KSI & Deji. This resulted in a “brothers versus brothers” boxing event, during which they travelled the world for promotional press conferences, creating numerous viral moments that garnered billions of views worldwide. The fights themselves were major successes, generating historical revenue.
For everyone else, this was the end of the road for YouTube boxing: a one-time event to settle scores. But for Jake Paul, this is where his life changed. He was no longer going to be a YouTuber. Paul vowed to be a professional boxer.
Paul's Progression
From there, Paul began his climb.
After his first pro victory against a fellow YouTuber, Paul then challenged a former NBA star, Nate Robinson. From there, he went to former UFC athletes Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva.
This is when the recognition and scrutiny came. Fans clamoured for Paul to fight an actual boxer, an athlete who’d trained the sport their whole life, dedicating hundreds of thousands of hours to the craft. What people were missing, however, was what was going on behind the scenes.
In the end, Paul gave fans what they wanted when he signed to fight Tommy Fury, a disciple of the legendary Fury family.
With that, Paul suffered his first loss, albeit a close decision to the much more experienced fighter.
This was damaging for Paul’s brand.
Undefeated no more, Paul needed to circle back to the drawing board.
Was he going to continue fighting retired UFC veterans, or would he return from this loss and pursue his goal of becoming a world champion?
Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)
To further build his brand, Paul teamed up with business guru and promoter Nakisa Bidarian to form his own promotion, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).
The Dartmouth MBA graduate had a background in combat sports, including being the CFO and CSO of the UFC, prior to teaming up with Paul.
Paul's fame can be attested to one thing: public perception. He's fully embraced the heel role in all fights, and fans have been dying to see him get what he supposedly deserves.
But the hate is what magnified Paul's brand.
Every fight has been another opportunity for millions around the world to have their wish fulfilled. And after each win, the hateful eyes grow, and Paul's name in combat sports looms larger.
Rather than teaming up with powerhouse promoters like Eddie Hearn (Matchroom Boxing) or Frank Warren (Queensberry Promotion), Paul had his own brand, something he could be the face of.
Outside of the ring, Paul had much bigger goals.
Women's Boxing
For years, he vowed to bring women’s boxing to the forefront of combat sports, and he did just that. His first major signing was world champion Amanda Serrano, one of the pound-for-pound best in the sport. He then put on a record-setting event between Serrano and world champion Katie Taylor, breaking records for the highest women’s gate in boxing history.
Paul has gone on to sign world champions like Alyce Bumgardner, Naomy, Dina Thorslund, and many more.
He has successfully launched women’s boxing into a new stratosphere, and he continues to build the brand, providing equitable pay for female combat athletes, along with a worldwide platform to build their respective brands.
Anthony Joshua
On the other side of the coin is a British sports legend, an athlete who’s made history countless times, and now lies as a major face of British Boxing.
Anthony Joshua has done all he’s needed to do in his career. He has conquered virtually all there is to conquer in boxing, and he now lies at a fork in the road.
The former champion has a record of 26 wins and four losses, with those defeats coming at the hands of former champions, like Oleksandr Usyk, Daniel Dubois, and Andy Ruiz.
Joshua has knocked out legend after legend, and his highlight reel will live on for eternity.
Now, having agreed to fight Jake Paul, fans are asking, why take the step down?
The easy answer could be chalked up to financial gain. With this fight airing on Netflix for the world to see, coupled with the global attention Paul attracts, it seems like a no-brainer for Joshua to accept the fight.
Being the bigger, stronger, and more accomplished athlete, Joshua seemingly has everything at his fingertips. What’s not to like? You fight a vastly lesser-talented fighter, for historical amounts of money, with an opportunity to popularize your name like never before.
However, with that comes expectation. Joshua has everything to lose. His name, fame, and credibility are all in jeopardy.
To nobody’s surprise, Joshua is the sizeable favourite in the contest. If things go as expected, he’ll annihilate his counterpart and walk away with a boatload of cash.
What makes the fight somewhat interesting is that, physical attributes aside, many people wonder if Joshua’s heart is still in the game.
Tactical Breakdown
Tactically speaking, the consensus is that the fight shouldn’t be close.
Joshua enters the contest with a five-inch height advantage, a six-inch reach advantage, and a 45-pound weight advantage. The terms of the contract state that on fight night, Joshua cannot enter the ring above 245 pounds. This is an insignificant element to the bout, as, regardless of obligation, Joshua still outsizes Paul drastically.
Stylistically, it’s a simple task to analyze.
His skills can be criticized, but Paul undoubtedly carries power in his hands, and no matter the man, if Paul connects, anyone can go down.
The issue is, on top of the physical advantage, Joshua’s boxing skills are vastly superior. He possesses better footwork, technique, and punching power. There isn’t an element of the sport where Joshua is inferior.
So, at the end of the day, Paul will have to somehow get on the inside without getting caught.
After suffering a knockout in his last contest, Joshua’s chin has been questioned. If Paul lands, could Joshua be finished?
These are straws analysts grasp onto to form some sort of debate, but in reality, this fight is expected to be a slaughter.
Paul is making the biggest jump of his career, fighting a former champion, and as he’s stated, if he emerges victorious, it will be the biggest upset in boxing history.
It’s hard to say he’s wrong. If Paul has his “Buster Douglas” moment, the night will be immortalized in boxing history.
If Joshua does what many expect, and what the world has been dying to see, Paul will be looking up at the stadium lights in one round.
Regardless of the outcome, this will be one of the most-watched fights in modern boxing history.
At the end of the day, you may not like Jake Paul, you may even hate him, but it's hard not to respect what he’s doing.
Paul is risking his image, his superstardom, and ultimately his boxing career by signing the contract.
Will he prove everyone wrong? Or will Joshua end the Jake Paul circus for good?
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