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They’re being called the next wave of boxing royalty. Brothers Jake Paul and Logan Paul rose to internet fame as teenagers posting wacky videos on YouTube, now they are the biggest draw in boxing. Other social media personalities are jumping on the trend, including TikTok’s Bryce Hall and YouTube’s Ace Family.
A Perfect Distraction
In today’s social media landscape, drama is king, but drama can become stale, repetitive, and uninteresting. Sometimes when attempting to creating drama, you inadvertently offend. This is exactly what happened when Logan Paul uploaded a now infamously problematic video back in 2017, which created a firestorm of criticism the brothers hadn’t faced before. The backlash was swift, and Logan Paul lost his ability to monetize videos on his YouTube channel.
Logan Paul (and his brother) were in desperate need of a distraction. They were handed the perfect opportunity when YouTuber KSI called out the Paul brothers following his match with Joe Weller. It made perfect sense as the Paul brothers were vilified in the media and lost their ability to make money on YouTube; who wouldn’t pay to watch an event where they would be fought and potentially get triumphed over?
A Successful Spectacle
Although initially hesitant, the Paul brothers eventually reached a deal with KSI, and the plan started to come together. A first-of-its-kind pay-per-view fight was announced and what followed was a media frenzy that both sides were eager to capitalize on.
The fight took place in August of 2018 in a packed stadium, with over eight hundred thousand paid to watch the spectacle online and millions more found pirated streams. At the end of the day, KSI, his brother Deji, Logan Paul, and his brother Jake Paul earn a respectable $900 thousand for the fight alone, but they also cashed in on the sponsorship money, merch sales, PPV sales, ticket sales, and revenue generated from YouTube videos ahead of the fight. The brothers had found a new way to make money and had distracted everyone from their controversy.
Hefty Paychecks And Publicity
Fast forward to 2021, and the brothers are each taking a different approach to the sport. Logan Paul hasn’t won a single fight, but he refuses to define victory like a traditional boxer. Victory to Paul isn’t about knowing what the rules are or about professional boxing matches where a victor is declared at the end, it’s about the event itself, which awards him publicity and a hefty paycheck. When Paul held an exhibition match with Floyd Mayweather, one of the greatest boxers of all time, it was one of the biggest publicity stunts imaginable and netted Paul the biggest paycheck of his career, an estimated $10 million.
With only four fights under his belt, Jake Paul has transformed from a novice to the main draw. Paul defeated former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley Woodley in an August match that filled the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland with 16,000 frenetic fans. He won his previous fight against Nate Robinson with a knockout. He won his other two with technical knockouts. While he remains undefeated, he is still struggling to find legitimacy in the sport.
“No one is doing — and I say this as humbly as possible — no one is doing this big of fights four fights in,” Paul said.
Influencer Boxing Going Mainstream
Other social media personalities have taken notice of the piles of money the Paul brothers are raking in and influencers boxing and jumped on the trend. One such event, which was promoted as the Battle of the Platforms by Social Gloves, was held just a couple of weeks ago. The event pitted Youtube’s Ace Family against Tiktok’s Bryce Hall, and plenty of fans from both platforms paid the heft $49.99 to access the fight. According to Sporting News, the headliners made millions, with Hall getting a $5 million check and 4% of pay-per-view. Not too bad for his first fight.
It’s fair to say the Paul brothers have become the face of boxing, with the Paul name in the top 3 boxing PPV events of the year so far. These brothers are a buzz, and money-making machines that demand attention, their eccentric foray into boxing has changed the sport, and it has paid off for the pair who make more fighting than they ever could on YouTube.
Source: Sporting News, NY Times, ESPN, Yahoo