First of all, I don’t know where champ got all of this hair all of a sudden. He was balding just a few weeks ago in the Gotcha Hat scuffle with the Paul brothers.
Two fights brewing against the Paul brothers. What we are witnessing is bigger than celebrity fighters vs Youtube stars. Yes, these two matches’ marketing is powered a lot by race. We are all going to enjoy the spectacle that is the fight itself, but the build-up is more exciting than the contest itself.
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Paul Brothers Understand Fight Marketing
More than any notable figure right now, Jake Paul represents the menace that we all know in our lives, classrooms and jobs. The ‘rich white kid’, who is ‘entitled and privileged’ endeavors to raise his profile through trolling and physical dominance. As Americans, we love watching this stuff play out. Whether or not you personally are emotionally invested doesn’t really matter. What matters is that others are emotionally invested, and race wars in combat sports are great for marketing.
In America, boxing is fueled by nationalism and support for ethnic representatives fighting that night. Rivalries between Mexican and Puerto Rican fans make boxing that much more entertaining in the international market. Irish fans do the same for MMA. Identity matters in combat sports because people don’t spend money to support fighters they cannot relate to. What better American marketing than to have the old fashioned, white and black race war settled through violence. It’ll be just like the good old days when America was more wholesome. Jack Jackson, Jackie Fields and now Jake Paul will etch his name in the history books.
Mayweather vs Paul – Sunday June 6th at 8p.m. EDT
Everything about this fight is a cliché fantasy, yet we will still watch it. To many, Jake is their high school bully, to others it’s Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather, the Paul Brothers and Tyron Woodley have many vocal haters as well. Logan is the ‘rich kid’ that can’t possibly be tough (because he’s white). Woodley is the ‘race baiter’ who is always whining and is ‘corny’ because he is apparently always trying to be hood, though he is a responsible family man. It’s great!
Many people hate when race is thrown into anything, but here it fits. Everyone knows how the fight will play out. Even when Floyd fought Conor, MMA fans still knew what would happen, but they supported their representative festively. The other fights were fun, as neither party was ever a boxer or showed any promise as a striker in their background.
Paul vs Woodley – Saturday August 28th
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Hate sells, and so do virtues and tribalism. We can cheer against Mayweather due to his past with domestic violence. Others can heckle the Paul brothers for making light of suicide. Even more can hate Jake Paul for constantly laughing through tense situations. Each competitor brings their own fans and distractors into the bout with them, but it’s largely due to their identities. This is what makes fighting the most exciting show in sports.
A fighter’s identity and worth are on the line in every contest. Even worse, the loser will almost certainly be physically humiliated in a loss. There will be no more pretending once these two bouts are settled this summer. American fans just sit back and watch.
