
Was it the desafío el combate(combat challenge) between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg that led to this insane celebrity fighting culture? Or was it the match between KSI and Logan Paul that ignited the fire?
I would say neither. The first celebrity fight dates back even further when the two comedians Ricky Gervais and Bob Mortimer (both from the UK) fought against each other in a boxing ring. When social media was on the rise, this culture was established when Mitt Romney (US Senator) fought with five-time World Champion Evander Holyfield in 2015.
Then, it was Connor McGregor’s wittiness, courage, and confidence that led him to a boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. The hype was huge and that helped Connor make around 30 million dollars.
This was the foundation of all the hype we are sucked into today.
As of 2024, we saw a fight between arguably the greatest boxer of all time, Mike Tyson, and Jake Paul, a rather young boxer, actor, and YouTuber.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson: What’s Up with Celebrity Fights and More.
How to Watch Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson?
How Did It All Started?
Why Celebrity Fights Are Such a Hype?
Where to Watch Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson?
The fight was live-streamed exclusively on Netflix. No TV channel broadcasted the live event. Speaking of which, being a Latin American who loves to watch MMA and boxing, I tuned in to stream it in 4K through my alta velocidad Xfinity Internet. Xfinity is my choice for home WiFi because of its low outage rates, affordable plans, and customer service tailored for Spanish speakers at Xfinity en español.
The match was set for November 15, 2024, after it was postponed in July. In case you miss the match, the full fight is available to watch on Netflix.
How Did It All Started?
For Jake Paul, it was in 2014 when he dropped out of high school to give his time and energy to make it to Hollywood, and For Mike, it was in 1979 when he chose to pursue boxing at Tryon School of Boys.
Though the foundation for Jake wasn’t meant for boxing, he ended up there anyhow. Mike was born to be a boxer and the career he left behind is clear evidence of what he was capable of in that ring.
Seeing this hype around and Jake calling out on the former World Champion Mike, Mike was ready to take on the challenge and tightened his belt in July. But due to an ailment in the stomach, he wasn’t able to fight. So, the fight was postponed till November of this year.
The reasons to take on the fight were different for both fighters. Jake wanted to fight solely for the money, whereas Mike fought only to feed his ego because he already made $40 million by endorsing products across the globe.
That was a brief overview of the history of the two. Now, let me walk you through a detailed outlook on this celebrity-fighting culture.
Why Celebrity Fights Are Such a Hype?
Well, the first answer to that is the name itself – ‘celebrity’ fights.
Only the most famous people with a huge following qualify for the event and those who are working hard to get there are often overlooked by it.
Mike Tyson (arguably the biggest name in boxing), Jake Paul (a YouTuber with a massive following), KSI, and Logan Paul both social media influencers got the chance to go mainstage and bag some big money prizes.
People want to see these fights between the celebrities. I read a tweet on X where someone wanted Donald Trump to fight with Joe Biden. For me, that was absurd but people were actually hyping it up.
That’s the culture that is shaping up to be just that. The question here might be is that culture positive?
My answer would be subjective. Yes, it is good for the media partner broadcasting the show and the two parties of the fighters. And no for the real boxing culture.
The majority of the athletes training to be a boxer want to be Jake Paul and that makes sense, who doesn’t want to participate in a few matches and pocket $40 million in the next? However, that overshadows the grit that makes a fighter – fighter.
Becoming a real champion takes a lot of energy, determination, hard work, consistency, and mentality to get your first $40 million paycheck. But with these celebrity fights, you need to be already a famous personality and know how to throw a couple of punches, and that would be it.
This is the sole reason that these celebrity fights are getting criticism from the fans of the sport and experts.
But is that criticism valid? That is, again, subjective. People want to see these fights that’s why broadcasters are pushing it. If they don’t, we might won’t even see another fight like that.