By: Sean Crose
In an age where everything is taken literally, perhaps it’s only fitting to say Mike Tyson probably meant his words to be taken with a large grain of salt when he said legitimate high quality boxers want to “kill” Jake and Logan Paul, two near novices who have essentially taken much of the air out of the contemporary boxing scene. According to Mediate, Tyson claimed on his Hotboxin podcast that: “The real champions don’t even have that many views,” on social media compared to the Paul’s. “They’d be happy if they had a million views,” he continued. “These guys get 80 million views.”
Boxing has been a showman’s game since at least the time of John L Sullivan. Traditionally, however, the showmen have been fighters of note. The Paul brothers, on the other hand, are people of note who have decided to become fighters. Neither brother has faced a professional boxer in the ring, though Logan is set to face a forty four year old Floyd Mayweather in a pay per view event this coming June. “That’s why everybody wants to kill him,” Tyson is quoted as saying of the Paul’s. “Cause they see this little white guy, blonde hair, blue eyes, making all this fucking money, talking all this shit, everybody wants to kill him.”
For context, it’s good to keep in mind that boxing is traditionally a poor, or at least a working class, person’s sport. The Paul brothers, who appear to be rich in both fame and revenue, seem to be neither of those things. Their all American looks are also a far cry from most boxers, who have usually emerged from America’s (and the rest of the world’s) more humble backgrounds. For the record, Tyson does not appear to be a Paul hater, In fact, he’s previously complimented the brothers for their audacity. As a former great, however, the man is able to convey how other fighters feel.
Both Jake and Logan were internet stars before they entered the fight world. When they did start to box, it was primarily viewed as a lark. Younger brother Jake, however, appears to have some talent. He can hit and he takes his professional training very seriously. In other words, he appears to be exactly what he is – an obviously talented fighter whose record now stands at 3-0. Promising, but certainly not defining in his resume. No matter, the internet influencer crowd has followed he and older brother Jake into their ring endeavors, putting the name Paul right up there with Canelo, Joshua, Mayweather, and McGregor when it comes to combat sport fame. It’s certainly isn’t fair, but, for the time being, at least, it is what it is.
As for Tyson, he himself has done well in the novelty fight business. His pay per view exhibition battle late last year with fellow former great Roy Jones may deserve credit for helping truly ring in this new era of novelty fights. Tyson and Jones, however, both had legendary and legitimate ring careers behind them. The Paul brothers, on the other hand…