Has The Jake Paul Boxing Novelty Worn Off, Or Has He Permanently Created His ‘Own Lane’?
Jake Paul returned to the boxing ring on Saturday night and delivered another thumping knockout victory over another underwhelming opponent, this time former MMA fighter Mike Perry.
Paul took his professional record to nine wins against one defeat – to Tommy Fury in February 2023 – after stopping Perry in the sixth round of their eight-round bout at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
While the official viewing and pay-per-view figures have yet to be released, it appears to be another successful Paul boxing show, at least based on attention and metrics like social media engagement. One thing is for certain: Paul will no doubt be handsomely compensated for his efforts.
If he earned between $5 million and $7 million for his fight against the unheralded, yet professional, boxer Ryan Bourland, then the internet-personality-turned-pro-fighter will surely bank much more for this bout against Perry, given the huge amount of promotion around the event.
Paul then spent the post-fight proceedings, both in the ring and the press conference, calling out various names. First it was 58-year-old heavyweight icon Mike Tyson, who was originally scheduled to face Paul before injury pushed back their showdown to November. Then it was UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Then it was former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor.
Paul Deserves Credit
Absent from Paul’s lips, though, was a legitimate, prime, top-level boxer. No mention this time of super-middleweight king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. No talk of soon being ready to challenge for world titles; only MMA fighters and a former superstar decades removed from even the twilight of his career.
In many ways, it’s actually refreshing to hear Paul call out realistic opponents instead of the delusional targets of world champions. Perhaps it indicates that Paul finally recognizes his place in the boxing world; a limited fighter but master promoter who guarantees himself millions of dollars by putting on entertaining shows that shouldn’t be compared to major prize-fights.
This is not a slight on Paul. He deserves immense credit for spotting a gap in the boxing market by putting on events that hundreds of thousands of fans want to watch. By leveraging enormous social media followings, the likes of Paul, his brother Logan, KSI, and others have become even bigger stars by transitioning into boxing.
That Paul earned around the same amount for fighting, and losing to, Tommy Fury in an eight-round bout as Oleksandr Usyk did for beating Tyson Fury in the biggest fight of 2024 (approximately $30 million) shows what a genius marketer and self-promoter ‘The Problem Child’ is.
He has also done more to promote and champion women’s boxing than many other influential figures within the sport, playing a key promotional role in Amanda Serrano’s historic bout with Katie Taylor at Madison Square Garden in 2022 and using his influence to maximize the earning potential of female fighters.
Boxing Enjoying Revival
Yet, as a fighter himself, there is a growing sense that the novelty bouts against fellow YouTubers and retired MMA fighters is starting to run its course. When demand for these events was at its peak, it was during a time when boxing was struggling to consistently make the mega fights fans desperately wanted to see.
However, in the past 18 months – dating back to when Paul reached his peak in terms of PPV sales and revenue against Fury in February 2023 – boxing has undergone radical and welcome change. The biggest bouts are being made on a more regular basis thanks in part to the investment in the sport from Saudi Arabia.
We’ve seen an undisputed welterweight title clash between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr, the undisputed heavyweight title contested by Usyk and Fury, Devin Haney v Ryan Garcia, Anthony Joshua fight four times, a boxing boom in Japan thanks to Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, and new stars emerge like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, Jai Opetaia, Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.
And the year is not done. Still to come is the August 3 mega-card in Los Angeles, courtesy of Riyadh Season, headlined by Crawford against WBA super-welterweight champion Israil Madrimov, Daniel Dubois’ first IBF heavyweight world title defense against Joshua in September (also Riyadh Season), the long-awaited undisputed light-heavyweight showdown between Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol in October, and two massive rematches: Taylor v Serrano (November) and Usyk v Fury (December).
The question therefore must be asked as to where this exciting new age of boxing leaves Paul and his sub-standard brand of boxing bouts.
Is Jake Paul This Era’s Butterbean?
“In some ways, you think, ‘It had it’s time’,” said former world champion turned analyst Paulie Malignaggi on Pro Box TV’s ‘Deep Waters’ ahead of Paul’s fight with Perry.
“Jake is very smart – he created his own lane, signed fighters, created MVP Promotions. To me, Jake Paul is [this era’s] ‘Butterbean,’” Chris Algieri, also a former world champion now analyst, added.
The comparison to Butterbean is apt in many ways. Eric Esch, better known as Butterbean, was a heavyweight boxer in the 1990s and early 2000s who drew large crowds and built a cult following for his giant size and ability to knock out opponents. Yet, he never beat a single ranked fighter.
Perhaps, like Butterbean, Paul has created his own lane and it’s here to stay. If the demand remains and he can continue to secure credible enough fights against MMA opponents that fans are happy to see (and pay for), then this could be a new permanent extension of the sport.
However, as boxing enjoys a phenomenal revival, Paul’s place in the legitimate fight game appears more distant than ever.
