On YouTube Boxing
Social media stars have long capitalized on drama, but are they putting themselves at serious risk by taking their childish disputes into the ring?
I’m trying something different this time around. So bear with me, and please let me know how you felt about this week’s letter in the feedback or comments section at the bottom 👇. If you don’t already subscribe to the Mandate Letter, you can so do below!
This week in (fake) news
This just in! Sunday delivered the boxing world the news equivalent of a one-two punch.
It began with the revelation that Floyd Mayweather, arguably the greatest boxer of all time, will soon square off against YouTube rabble-rouser Logan Paul.
Then, with the sports Twitter-verse already a frenzy, the loudmouth mixed-martial artist (and former Mayweather opponent), Connor McGregor, announced a special exhibition match in which he will fight Jiffpom, the world's most famous dog.
The latter fight will take place in Las Vegas. The Nevada State Athletic Commission has just issued a statement saying that, while the pugnacious Pomeranian has never been in a combative situation (except for that one ill-fated incident with the neighbor's dog), they have granted him a pro boxing license on account of his seemingly boundless energy fetching toys.
Many fans have seen the match as inevitable in light of the recent internet beef between the two. Jiffpom fired the first shot by tagging McGregor in a now-infamous IG video featuring the pooch cocking its nut-sized noggin to the side and bearing its tiny teeth.
McGregor blasted back by tweeting, “little pups can’t just go around talking smack, I’ll show @JiffPom who the real big dog is #🦁”
(Editors note: the tweet was later deleted on account of the fact that, until it was brought to light in the comments, McGregor did not know that a lion is, technically, a cat.)
Combined, the two have a social media audience of well over 60m, making the showdown among the most anticipated streaming events of 2021. Pedigree has signed on to be the presenting sponsor.
McGregor has agreed to drop 165 pounds for the match. Comparatively, the little fluff monster will have to eat doggie treats 24/7 in order to make his fighting weight. (#ad by Pedigree).
However, the Irishman isn’t thrilled with the terms for the fight. A representative for McGregor said in a recent interview: "We think that Jiffpom should be forced to shave down his facial fur because it acts like headgear, affording him extra protection and therefore an unfair advantage."
On the matter, the commission's top referee sent a clear response to McGregor's camp in an interview with ESPN: “Aside from the addition of a “no urination” statute, we will not be making any other additions to our in-ring bylaws. Both competitors should act like good sportsmen...errr...and sportsdogs...and we expect to see a good, clean match."
Back to your regularly scheduled program
Ok, you might be wondering what the hell was that? Well, upon learning of the Mayweather vs. Logan Paul fight (which lit up Twitter on Sunday and was actually real mainstream news), I was moved to write that satirical response.
Generally speaking, it’s bad form to unpack humor. (Famous last words: “No, if I just explain it to you, it will be funny, I swear!”). But the context for this silliness is actually the meat of this week’s Mandate Letter.
You’ll be well aware of the fact that YouTubers and celebrities alike have long drummed up drama for attention. However, I’m sorry to inform you that trend of social media stars putting on gloves and boxing out their beef is officially a thing.
A (very) brief history of YouTube boxing
When it comes to this bizarre arena, YouTubers Logan Paul (22.6m subs) and his younger brother Jake (20.3m subs) are arguably the provocateurs in chief.
However, they weren’t the first internet innovators to figure out how to grow their audiences and make oodles of cash by going beyond their typical content (live-streaming videogame play, parody music videos, and juvenile pranks) and taking their public disputes into the ring.
Back in early 2018, two popular British Youtubers, KSI and Joe Weller decided to settle their disagreements in a boxing match at London’s Olympic Park. Many originally saw the event as two boys doing childish things. However, the general public changed their tune upon learning that the 7,500-seat venue sold out and the live stream garnered more viewers than the final of Wimbledon.
Despite the notable lack of skill, KSI “won.” And without pausing to enjoy his “victory,” he immediately challenged the Paul brothers while still on the Livestream. And while it initially looked like baby brother Jake may step forward, it was Logan who answered the call.
The exact reasoning remains unclear; however, Logan was on the heels of a number of controversies, including significant mainstream media backlash to a video he posted of a real corpse from the “Suicide Forest” in Japan. It stands to reason that he felt that this worldwide event could help resuscitate his flagging career.
The two fought in London later that year, and the match resulted in a draw*. At that same event, Jake Paul also ended up fighting (and defeating) KSI’s younger brother Deji (also a popular Youtuber), making the whole thing feel like a huge spectacle had been made out of a family backyard brawl.
I’ll spare you most of the silly details of what ensued next. But suffice to say that, many aggressive interviews and hostile tweets later, Logan and KSI went on to fight again the following year (KSI came out on top), and Jake got two more victories (Youtuber AnEsonGib and, more recently, former NBA dunk champion Nate Robinson) under his belt.
Isn’t this just celebrity boxing?
You might be thinking: it’s not like any of this is new. In the early aughts, Fox aired a show called Celebrity Boxing, which featured both infamous personalities (Joey Buttafuoco, Tonya Harding) and erstwhile superstars (Vanilla Ice, Manute Bol) flailing about in the ring. Unsurprisingly, the show was panned by critics for being “tawdry” and a naked play for attention.
However, there’s a key distinction between these celebrity spectacles and the type of events this new generation of YouTube pugilists intends to pursue. Participants in celebrity fights maintain amateur status (actually, this was also the case with the Paul brothers’ initial fights I mention above).
However, all of the Paul brothers’ subsequent fights (and, more importantly, Logan’s upcoming showdown with Floyd Mayweather) were all sanctioned for the participants to fight as pros.
The key difference between amateur and pro boxing: Safety
You might have noted that, in all of the previous YouTube clips in this piece, the fighters are wearing headgear, one of the key rule differences between amateurs and pros. Another less visible difference: amateurs also fight with gloves that contain heavier padding to absorb the force of a punch.
But beyond the gear, entering the world of professional boxing entails some major psychological shifts. Amateur fighters generally try to land an increased number of lighter punches to score points; by contrast, most pro boxers try to win by delivering a KO (knockout). Not to mention the fact that real pros’ lives comprise three activities: eat, sleep, train. In other words, it’s all that they do.
And considering that boxing had long been criticized for the serious health implications (including death) that result from getting punched repeatedly in the face, you can understand why the idea that these YouTubers (or celebrities) can just train for a little while and fight as professional might be a cause for concern.
I should pause and quickly acknowledge that I am making a somewhat unfair characterization to arrive at what will eventually become my point. Prior to Logan Paul vs. KSI II, Kevin Draper at the New York Times wrote a piece about the rematch that questioned the fact that it was the first of these spectacles to bear the banner of a “professional fight.”
And while you would have expected experts to universally condemn the match, some suggested that the two fighters might not be totally unprepared:
[The Logan Paul vs. KSI 1] bout in Manchester “wasn’t that wild of a fight, in my opinion,” said Dan Canobbio, a boxing analyst for Fox Sports and CompuBox. “They showed a lot of good technique.” Paul, the taller and longer of the two fighters, kept KSI at bay with a good jab. KSI “ate a lot of punches” to try and get inside and nullify Paul’s length…They’re not legitimate professionals, but he’s seen worse fighters, Canobbio said. “It is not like it is celebrities, two washed celebrities who are clearly not in their prime anymore,” he said.
But Draper also implied financial interests should be considered (their previous fight was believed to have grossed over $10m in streaming fees) as well as noting that it’s not as difficult as you might think to get a pro license (you just need to pass some health exams and have credible trainers vouch for your preparation).
Still, this sets a perilous precedent. Last weekend at the Jake Paul vs. Nate Robinson fight, Paul delivered the type of knockout that critics refer to when denouncing brutality in the sport. As Robinson charged, Paul backed up and connected a counter-punch that rendered his opponent completely unconscious, drooling on the floor.
Thankfully, Robinson later reported that he was ok (although you can never really know the lasting effects of head trauma). Still, a number of pro fighters and boxing experts spoke out on Twitter, calling for a stop to these kinds of events.
While the Paul brothers (and KSI) may take these events seriously, others following in their footsteps may not. Despite having never boxed before, TikTok and YouTube star Bryce Hall issued a $500K challenge to fight an (equally inexperienced) rival at the same event that Robinson took on Jake Paul.
Thankfully, that match never transpired. And you could argue that these types of challenges are the YouTuber version of a media stunt. Case in point, the aforementioned AnEsonGib recently released a clickbait video suggesting that he was fighting Bryce Hall, a rumor that quickly revealed itself to be patently untrue.
But, I think when YouTubers start challenging athletes that fight for a living, they are seriously putting themselves in harm’s way by biting off a whole lot more than they can chew.
When things get really dangerous
When it comes to the Logan Paul vs. Floyd Mayweather fight, unsurprisingly, Logan was the one to set the dominoes in motion. When asked if he could beat the boxing champion, he told the paparazzi, "if I caught Floyd with one punch -- one punch -- I would snap this fucker in half."
Floyd responded in the exact fashion you’d expect of this kind of schoolyard stupidity:
I’m not even going to comment on the content of this tweet (I think you already know what my thoughts are about this kind of misogynistic trash talk) except to explain the part that says, “3 years ago a fighter from the UFC said my name and I had to put a muzzle on that bitch.”
He’s referring to his boxing match with Connor McGregor — an event that produced the single biggest payday in sports history, with Mayweather earning $275m for coming out on top (McGregor reportedly took home a paltry $130m).
Hopefully, that helps explain why Logan Paul would call out Mayweather, and the former champ would accept (👁👁👁👁👁 + 💰💰💰💰💰); also why Logan’s brother followed up his recent victory with a media circus around the prospect of another match up, Connor McGregor vs. Jake Paul.
The brothers continually claim that they outweigh the two expert fighters (an age-old male neg: I’m bigger than you, man!), not to mention that they are younger too. But, again, Mayweather and McGregor have fought their entire lives. No matter how hard they train, the Paul brothers still only have a handful of years of boxing training between them, which makes this whole thing feel surrealistic and absurd.
The potential risk is very high. However, considering that Mike Tyson recently said that the boxing community should thank these YouTubers (not deride them) for saving their “dying sport,” it makes a lot more sense that commissioners overseeing safety would be willing to turn a blind eye.
Long before the fight with Mayweather was official, Logan Paul said, “they say it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Will this platitude turn out to be true when they step into the ring next year? Quickly frankly, I’m terrified to see.
Article Update as of December 11: At the time of writing, the terms of Logan Paul v. Floyd Mayweather fight had not yet been released. It is now been made clear that it will not be a sanctioned fight or affect either fighter's record. The two fighters will also be able to wear heavier gloves. I think this mitigates things slightly from a safety perspective; however, I still believe this sets a horrible precedent for up-and-coming creators, who are being led to believe that a shortcut to fame lies in challenging anyone within internet earshot to brawl inside the ring.
Footnotes
*Technically, the match was a “majority draw,” as two out of three judges scored the match evenly.
**Jake Paul and Nate Robinson fought on the undercard of a much-anticipated matchup between Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. (both came out of retirement for the fight)
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About the Mandate Letter
I use this newsletter as a journal to work through my ideas and collect examples of broader trends that reflect how masculinity is evolving in culture. I would very much appreciate your input.
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