The successful nature of KSI’s fight against Faze Temper has bread speculation as to the future of the sport of boxing. With the rise of social media influencers participating in the sport, and seemingly finding increasing success in both popularity and profits, is the sport of boxing better off, or worse off?
Jake Paul and KSI are one of the two biggest-known names due to their transition from social media stars to boxers. While the former has recently participated in professional bouts against former MMA fighters, KSI – known by his birthname as Olajide Olatunji – has made his bread fighting other social media stars who have dabbled into the sport of boxing.
Both of men are just examples of a recent influx of rappers, influencers or other celebrities picking up the sport of boxing. Though the reasons for this might vary, there is a substantial difference between the profits these celebrities make as opposed to a regular pro boxer with a decent resume and a winning record.
Influencers often enter the sport with a fanbase that can garner them millions for every fight, as evident with Jake Paul and KSI. A pro boxer, let’s take a contender, would be miles above them in terms of skill and experience, but could lack in the support needed to generate the same amount of profits as more well-known influencers. A case-in-point example of this is the boxer Regis Prograis, the current WBC Super Lightweight/Junior Welterweight champion who fought on the undercard of Jake Paul’s event with Ben Askren against Ivan Redkach, despite the pedigrees of both boxers in the sport of professional boxing.
Ideally, Prograis would have been headlining his own card in his fight against Redkach, having at that time been a former world champion with almost a decade experience and more than twenty-five professional bouts under his belt. Yet despite the scathing difference in achievements and background in professional boxing, it was Prograis that had to make due with being on the undercard of Jake Paul who had less than three fights at the time, and was facing a debutant in the sport of boxing.
Prograis’ fight with Redkach – held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, at the time – would draw less interest than Jake Paul’s fight, despite the stark difference in careers between him and Paul. Though that is not necessarily Regis Prograis’ or Jake Paul’s fault, it is a clear-cut example on how anyone with a well-known name can rake in huge money without needing the necessary skill or experience of other pro boxers.
This begs the question on whether Influencers are a boon, or a detriment, to the sport of boxing. Though Jake Paul was referenced as an example, it is important that he competes as professional boxer by fighting other professionals – albeit it lesser experienced or debutants in the sport. In the instance of other Influencers, they don’t even need to officially partake in professional boxing bouts, and can simply go in exhibition bouts with other Influencers.
As exhibition bouts are not professional bouts and therefore subject to different rules as well as far less consequences for the loser, Influencers seem to have taken to fighting in exhibitions to generate profits for themselves. In no way, do exhibition bouts truly advance the sport of boxing – neither the amateur or professional versions, yet it is possible and even proven that Influencers could earn more than even a legitimate world champion, such as the likes of Lawrence Okolie or Rey Vargas, both fighters who have a decent following but spent many years of training and fighting to get to that point.
Though no one begrudges the Influencer the popularity they already have, it is hard not to take notice of the fact that the hard work of a pro boxer is overlooked, while Influencers seem to be enjoying the boons of the efforts of pro boxers. Not only can Influencers make more money than a vast total of professional boxers, being they are participating in exhibition bouts, there are fewer risks attached to their bouts.
Even Influencers that do participate in professional boxing fights, such as Anderson Silva, can tend to be considered to be taking advantage of the popularity in sport to boost their own income. MMA fighters especially, are known to earn less than boxers in their respective field, but can now cash in on the popularity they have garnered during their MMA careers fighting similarly skilled opponents for potentially higher amounts than pro boxers with more than a decade of experience at the highest level of boxing.
It is clear that, based on logical reasoning and objective analyses, Influencers AND MMA fighters diving into the sport carry a few more negatives than positives for the sport of boxing. However, this also shows the lack of structure within the sport – best illustrated through the problems the United States Congress have noted about boxing – which has led to this moment, and the willingness of promoters to indulge or even promote Influencers themselves.
However, though boxing seems to be a free-for-all industry, it does not prevent professional boxers from building their own brands and fan bases to improve their own monetary gains. Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis are just two of a couple examples of boxers that have not necessarily fought top opponent after top opponent, but still rake in sizeable amount of money for who they fight. Coupled with their amateur careers, they have spent years in boxing and developed fan bases off of their performances in the ring and entertainment value outside the ring. Their success is more a result of the natural progression they made in the sport, rather than jumping in just for the potential monetary benefits.
It is yet to be determined if Influencers will massively supercede important boxing fights such as one between two rival champions or contenders, or undisputed/unified fights, but this trend might completely overturn the definition of what is known as boxing. Influencers do not need boxing fans to generate interest; they only need their own fan bases and that of the opponent they’re fighting to earn as much money as they can. They also do not need extensive training or experience in boxing, or even be considered mediocre in the sport; having the intention to fight and the backing necessary to support them, is enough to participate in boxing.
There are ways to combat the rise of Influencers. Professional boxers, for example, can choose to actually fight the best in their weight classes, eliminating the trend of “trend-up” fights and fighting lower-ranked or skilled opponents.
But in essence, there is no athletic commission, no boxing governing body or any other organization related to boxing that can stop the current influx of Influencers.
With that being said, there are still other solutions available that have not yet been explored. In the upcoming year, we will highlight both potential solutions, and look to observe other ways in which either Influencers can serve the sport of boxing, or professional boxers can stimulate interest for their own fights.
