Why We Can’t Help But Watch Influencers Get Knocked Down
When celebrities step into the boxing ring, their huge Instagram following or fancy brand deals don’t really matter. It all boils down to who can pack a stronger punch.
I’ll tell you one story this September. When we talk about the famous social media guy Logan Paul and the mixed martial artist Dillon Danis, it almost seems like they are trying to Bully each
other in terms of popularity and media attention. They both do not act like professional athletes. They always try to bully each other with their unique hairstyles and overconfidence.
smirks, but what really stands out are the not-so-nice insults and personal attacks they throw at each other.
Logan Paul made fun of Danis, calling him “Mr. Mumble-Jumble-Stumble” when Danis struggled to speak clearly. Danis, on the other hand, kept repeating the same insult, “You’re a
scumbag, bro.” The streaming service, DAZN, which was going to broadcast the fight, even
said, “These two really despise each other.” This rivalry was the central theme to promote the match. They both always trying to show their celebrity status and drama Instead of focusing on
their skills or the competition. This drama was expected to attract hundreds of thousands of viewers and loads of money to what might have been an otherwise mediocre boxing match.
We all will see this fight on orld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) show is its raw realism. While WWE has a lot of theatrical performances and scripted moves, these fighters have to go head-to-head without any scripts or choreography.
So, despite all the showbiz and the somewhat questionable storylines, when they step into the ring, there’s no escaping the real deal – punches, jabs, blood, and all. Boxing taps into our basic
instincts for comparison and competition. It’s all about one person taking on another, using
only their gloved fists, and not their fame or wealth. There’s a simple and human beauty in that.
If we talk about a unique point of Boxing, this is the only place where you can be a bit famous, not necessarily a superstar, and you don’t need to be the best or the most ethical.
But here’s the twist. The drama inside the ring doesn’t always guarantee high pay-per-view sales. Nowadays, many of the most popular fights in this sport don’t feature world champions or promising newcomers. They star social media influencers and retired, but still well-known.
boxers looking for a paycheck. Would you rather watch a bantamweight world title match or a 2021 feud between former NBA player Lamar Odom and former child star Aaron Carter? An
eight-round heavyweight qualifying match or a family vlogger like Austin McBroom knocking out a TikTok fraternity guy named Bryce Hall? Back in 2020, an exhibition match between two
middle-aged legends, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., attracted massive viewership because, well, it was Mike Tyson. Even Floyd Mayweather Jr., after retiring, made a lot of money from novelty fights. And seriously, who wouldn’t be curious about a rumored cage match between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk?
These fights grab our attention because of the characters involved, not just their skills. Welcome to the world of influencer boxing, where internet-famous tough guys and celebrities fight to stay relevant. They create fake feuds and emotional storylines, shared through training
videos and podcast appearances. These influencer boxers understand something that boxing traditionalists might not: a fight needs a story. Without it, no matter how technically perfect the match is, it’s just an empty performance.
For years, boxing promoters have lured audiences with the idea of seeing famous people in the ring. Let’s go back to 1991 when Mark Gastineau, a former NFL All-Pro, became a professional fighter. His switch from football to boxing garnered national attention, although later reports
suggested that many of his fights might have been rigged, with opponents paid to take falls. This fascination with seeing familiar faces in intense battles also extended to fiction, as we saw
in the show “Celebrity Deathmatch,” which debuted in 1998. It featured claymation celebrities battling it out. In 2002, Fox tried “Celebrity Boxing” with stars like Vanilla Ice and Tonya Harding but pulled the plug after just two episodes. (TV Guide even ranked it as one of the worst shows
ever.) The same year, Donald Trump’s Atlantic City casino hosted the “Brawl at the Taj Mahal,” where regulars from Howard Stern’s radio show duked it out. These events may not have the
polished skills of top-level boxing, but they thrived on the irresistible urge of people willing to do anything to gain or hold onto their fame.
Now, let’s talk about Logan Paul and his younger brother, Jake Paul. They seem to understand the power of storytelling better than most. Jake transitioned from a Disney Channel actor to a YouTuber and later became a rapper. Logan started as a YouTuber, then became a podcaster,
and even ventured into energy drink sales. Both of them ventured into boxing in 2018. Since then, Logan even faced off against Mayweather in a widely publicized exhibition match, and
Jake has become one of the most recognized names in the sport. Viewers might not care if the Paul brothers are top-notch boxers (they’re probably not), but what matters is the drama they bring and their ability to capture people’s interest through the internet.
In most other professional sports, major events are all about showcasing elite talent first and then adding narratives to make them more exciting. For example, the record-breaking viewership of this year’s U.S. Open tennis final between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka was
largely due to their incredible skill, despite the added drama. But in boxing, there’s no clear link between talent and storytelling anymore. To care about a fight between Paul and Danis or any
other match like rapper Blueface taking on TikToker Ed Matthews, or retired NFL star Le’Veon
Bell-facing YouTuber JMX, it’s almost entirely about the characters these individuals play. There are no real sports championships at stake, no titles to be won. The meaning of the match is almost entirely driven by the drama surrounding it.
Boxing, the main media attention sport there you can find your favorite athlete in big headlines and towering athletes, has shifted towards becoming a niche product rather than something for the masses. As the combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani said in a Netflix
documentary about Jake Paul, “I can’t tell you just how hard it is to get people to be emotionally invested, to get people to care, to get people to buy pay-per-views and tickets.” But there’s a strong new audience that follows social media celebrities and wouldn’t mind
watching them fight. One thing’s for sure, the Paul brothers certainly know how to grab that attention. Before they entered the world of boxing, Logan was known for a controversial video
in Japan’s “suicide forest,” which actually got him into trouble. Strangely enough, he emerged from that controversy even more famous, underscoring a rather unsettling lesson in content creation: do whatever it takes to get maximum engagement.
