Jake Paul is a social media sensation. That much is clear, with his millions of followers and so many of them hang on his next step.
That next step was boxing. Paul has been very clear about how sport has captured him and wants to progress in the sport – that’s understandable as Boxing often grabs you – it has me – and admirable as he wants to make his way in the art of Boxing.
But this is about the Boxing business too. And that feeds into Jake Paul’s social media reach, which is of course so important. And so the choice of opponent has been variable; not for him the ‘walk around’ with ‘journeymen’ fighters. Paul has dipped into the boxing world but with a Fury, marquee value and although he lost to Tommy, his words after about knuckling down to Boxing work cheered me.
And then he fought non-boxer Nate Diaz. Marquee again, of course, as the MMA’er is known, but a strange way to orogrwaa a solid Boxing record.
And so we come to Andre August. He was 10-1, but had we heard of any of those opponents? This was a boxer, so legitimate, but well picked.
The Fight: Jake Paul Vs Andre August
It didn’t last long and that wasn’t anything August did, it was what Paul did. He improves every time I see him and here he had a plan which worked.
They planned to keep the distance so August couldn’t land the body shots he liked and wanted to bring him onto shots.
That’s what happened in the very first round. August reached in and was open to a rather snappy and precise Paul uppercut which put him down heavily.
It was all over and not surprisingly. So, job done, eh?
The Boxing Business
Well, the Boxing was. That was a job very well, even incontrovertibly, done.
But the business of Boxing? Not done at all.
Jake Paul is on the back foot in the business of Boxing. Why?
Francis Ngannou.
The unknown boxer knocked the current WBC Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury down with a legitimate punch in the 3rd and many, me included, felt he was robbed in the result.
And with that, he leapt over the carefully-conserved Boxing career of Jake Paul. It was a leap of Bob Beamon proportions, huge and Ngannou is now in the catbird seat of that not-quite-legitimate Boxing.
That surely won’t work for Paul and his social media possibilities. He needs a big fight to come back. Yes, come back.
Because Andre August won’t move that metric. And so something else is needed. Something big. Something interesting. Something wow.
That’s what is needed for Jake Paul’s next opponent. And when you consider that even fighting a current Boxing champ won’t really be wow, now that Ngannou has seemingly bested Tyson Fury.
He’s in a spot. And only Floyd Mayweather can help him. Remember, I’m not talking about Boxing now, but the business of Boxing. Paul’s record in that regard has been patchy and, despite pronouncements about being committed to Boxing, his vacillating between Boxers and non-boxers is frustrating.
This is about business. With Ngannou coming from nowhere to take the top Boxing non-boxer, Paul can’t keep fighting Boxers and non-boxers who aren’t well known.
Paul told USA Today;
“More boxing prospects. More experience. More time in the ring. Under the bright lights staying active. And if the money fights come, I got smoke for them too.
“But right now I’m focused on being one of the best in the world and creating one of the greatest sports stories in the history of sports.’’
Floyd Mayweather is still steeped in Boxing tradition but puts on an exhibition show. The only issue for Paul is that he’s possibly more of a showman and could overshadow him.
That’s a chance Jake Paul may have to take.
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