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MIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 30: Jake Paul looks on after defeating AnEsonGib in a first round knockout during their fight at Meridian at Island Gardens on January 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Getty
MIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 30: Jake Paul looks on after defeating AnEsonGib in a first round knockout during their fight at Meridian at Island Gardens on January 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Jake Paul and his electric knockout of Nate Robinson have been doing the rounds on the internet. The fight may have been a co-main event for Mike Tyson returning against Roy Jones Jr., but has generated a lot of buzz since. Paul knocked Robinson out cold in a way that would make you wonder about the YouTuber’s bright future in the ring.
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People have been questioning whether Paul could actually transition from YouTube and be a legitimate boxer. Ariel Helwani, on his show with Daniel Cormier, gave credit to Paul for resurrecting mainstream interest in the sport.
“This is a sport people were saying was dying. Here you have a 23-year-old kid who’s bringing younger eyeballs to a sport. He’s taking it seriously and everyone is getting so mad, I think out of jealousy.”
Helwani added that Paul needs to start fighting real boxers to prove his worth. “If Jake Paul wants to progress as an actual boxer, at some point he’s gonna have to graduate from the YouTubers and the NBA Players.”
Jake Paul proving his worth
Even if he fought a former basketball player, what Jake Paul did was super impressive. He displayed crisp technique and genuinely made Robinson look like a fool.
Paul has taken training very seriously and might just have the credentials to pursue a pro career legitimately.
However, his commitment to that will be a different thing. Paul is a mainstream star and primarily a YouTuber. Would he be willing to give up or reduce his workload from there to accommodate training for actual pro boxers?
He hasn’t fought anyone who could be called a real boxer, anyway. He fought a YouTuber in an exhibition, and then a different YouTuber for his first bout before taking on Nate Robinson.
As far as the claims about bringing breathing new life into the ‘dying sport’ of boxing are concerned, Helwani might be onto something. The UFC has all the mainstream attention nowadays, and only certain fights in boxing create massive mainstream hype.
Mike Tyson also gave credit to Paul for bringing the eyes that he did. Maybe it is time we start looking at Jake as more than just a YouTuber, and as someone who could actually sell boxing to the fans again.
