Opinion: Is Jake Paul a Buffoonish Boxer or Promising Promoter?

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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Jake Paul isn’t even an afterthought among the pound-for-pound best boxers in the world. The 27-year-old former Disney and YouTube star couldn’t beat Tommy Fury, who’s better known for his stint on “Love Island (UK)” than his prowess in the ring. However, if you compare Paul’s bank account to the top pugilists in the sport, he emerges as a true heavyweight.

It feels like it was only yesterday when Paul barnstormed the sport six years ago. Who knew that his amateur-hour performance against fellow streamer Deji Olantunji would lead to marquee showdowns with combat sports legends such as Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva and most recently “Iron” Mike Tyson? It makes my stomach turn that Paul gets to boast he has those legends on his resume despite all four being severely over the hill, but you have to give credit to the kid. Who else could put together a run like that?

While Paul’s actual boxing skills have improved only marginally throughout the years, his position as one of the best promoters in the game is undisputed. The only question is whether he will use that influence for the good of the sport or to further advance his own self-interests. I believe the answer is the former.

Look, I understand Paul can rub people the wrong way. He’s brash, arrogant and an expert-level troll. He knows exactly what to say to get diehard boxing fans’ blood boiling, but if you look deeper at how he’s moving, you’ll be surprised at the good he’s doing for the next generation of boxers. While the Paul-Tyson main event was an eight-round clown show, the card wasn’t a complete failure. It was the most significant event outside of a Dallas Cowboys game held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with the total gate exceeding $18.1 million. At the same time, Netflix announced that over 60 million households had tuned in for the show. Cha-ching.

Since founding Most Valuable Promotions in 2021, Paul hasn’t stopped trying to find ways to bring the sport of boxing to as many eyes as possible. Teaming up with Netflix—despite its servers’ struggles to handle the massive event—was unprecedented, and his selection of opponent, albeit infuriating, was brilliant. Paul has an army of fans from his YouTube days, and picking an all-time great as revered as Tyson brought back fans who haven’t followed the sport in over 30 years. Call him a con man, but the combo kept him laughing all the way to the bank.

What I admired the most about Paul’s promotion was he realized the importance of a great undercard. Most casual fans don’t understand that if a card is slated to start at 8 p.m., the main event won’t occur until closer to midnight. In a world where most viewers have the attention span of a kindergartner, you can’t count on fans sticking around without intriguing bouts in between. Paul delivered them.

For those who avoided the prelims, you missed an impressive performance from a future world title contender, Bruce “Shu-Shu” Carrington. He was the A-side and expected to win, but opponent Dana Coolwell was no slouch. Most boxing promoters protect their young talent with pushovers, but Carrington was forced to fight and prove his mettle in a fun affair that set the tone for the evening.

The two fights before the main event solidified the night as a success. Ask a boxing fan the last time he or she saw two bouts back-to-back on the same card that were as good as Mario Barrios-Abel Ramos and Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano. You’d be sitting in silence for a bit. Most promoters dream of two heavily contested, dramatic world championship fights on the same night, and Paul made that happen. It’s time for him to focus solely on what he’s good at.

This charade of fighting retired legends has gone on long enough, and I don’t think the public will stand for it any longer. Disgruntled fans are calling the fight a fix and a disgrace, and Paul only has himself to blame. He put himself in a lose-lose situation by fighting Tyson. If he had knocked him out, he would have become the young prick who picked on a 58-year-old legend, but letting Tyson off the hook only solidified the belief that he would never be a world champion-caliber fighter.

What Paul ought to do is continue to use his platform to uplift the stars of tomorrow. Serrano cemented herself as the face of women’s boxing in a controversial defeat; Barrios set himself up for a major unification bout or a rematch with Ramos; and Carrington now has a new wave of supporters who will follow his rise. None of those three were marquee names before Paul, but now they could carry events without serving on his undercard.

Paul followed USA Boxing to the Paris Olympics this summer as a promotional partner. He showed behind-the-scenes looks at the team and helped tell the stories of the country’s top amateurs. Compared to sports like football and basketball, boxing has always struggled to build off the momentum of young athletes. A basketball player can go from being a 17-year-old high school senior to a multimillionaire in two years, thanks to the NCAA-to-NBA pipeline. Building a top amateur into a household name shouldn’t take a decade of fights and fake titles. Obviously, it takes time for an amateur to reach world champion status, but marketability and star power don’t have to operate on the same clock.

If Paul focused on his rising stable over selfish ambitions, he could genuinely dominate the sport as a promoter. He understands the youth better than Bob Arum, Al Haymon or Eddie Hearn ever could, and at 27, he has the time, money and energy to invest appropriately in the future. Paul may not be worth much as a boxer, but as a promoter, he’s a knockout.