by Carter Braun ‘23

Upwards of four billion people in the world are active on social media, and adolescents spend hours a day watching celebrities on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Whether it be good or bad, almost any publicity is good publicity for celebrities. They feed off the public’s attention, and it is irrelevant whether they are hated or loved. That is especially true for former Vine star and Disney actor Jake Paul, now turned professional boxer.

With a record of 5-0 in his professional career and victories over retired NBA player Nate Robinson, retired MMA fighter Ben Askren, and former UFC champion Tyron Woodley, it poses the questions: is Jake Paul actually good at boxing, and if so, is he good for the sport?

Paul, 24, became famous on the since defunct app, Vine, as a teenager in 2013. He has since gone viral on YouTube, gaining a record five million subscribers in his first six months on the app in 2017. Paul appeared on the Disney show Bizaardvark, starring as character Dirk Mann. Kids and teens around the world loved and idolized Paul, as he was a funny, sociable YouTuber and Disney star.

However, things went downhill for Paul after controversies arose surrounding his behavior which included engaging in risky stunts, driving bikes into pools, and starting fires in his backyard. Other more troubling controversies consist of sexually suggestive behavior, getting fired from Bizaardvark in 2017, and being charged with criminal trespass and unlawful assembly. But most notably of them all, in April this year, TikTok star Justine Paradise accused Paul of sexually assaulting her at his home in 2019. About a week later, Paul was accused of groping an underage girl in 2017. A sign of this new age in celebrity, Paul finds himself in hot water for a time until people forget about what happened and move on to what’s trending next.

And so now Paul is re-branding himself as a boxer and on December 18, he defeated former UFC champion Woodley via KO for the second time in five months. This knockout came in the 6th round of the fight during a back and forth match until a strong right hook from Paul sent Woodley to the mat.

After improving to 5-0 in his professional career, Paul has shown that he has the ability to compete with some of the best athletes in the world. He silenced doubters and backed up his arrogant claims by defeating a professional basketball player, a UFC champion twice, and a former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.

After the most recent victory, Paul called out the UFC’s president, Dana White, with whom he has publicly feuded, and offered to fight MMA stars. Paul pleaded with White to accept his offer and stated that he would fight the current UFC welterweight champion Nate Diaz.

But one question still arises; is his presence as a celebrity good for the overall sport of boxing (or Google Images Jake Paul prepares for a boxing match against Ben Askren during the Thriler Fight Club in Atlanta, Georgia. for that matter, MMA)? Boxing has taken a dip in relevancy in the 21st century, as less and less people are viewing the sport, and less and less parents are allowing their children to box. Now, kids grow up watching influencers such as Jake Paul, his brother Logan, YouTuber KSI, and other celebrities and professional athletes take up the sport of boxing.

Paul claims that his highly anticipated bout versus Askren generated over 1.5 million pay-per-view (PPV) buys, meaning that 1.5 million people paid to watch the fight. If true, the Paul vs. Askren fight would be the 12th most watched Boxing, UFC, or MMA fight of all time. The Logan Paul vs. KSI fight totaled 1.2 million PPV, resulting in it being the 21st most viewed event of all time.

Whether his claim over his viewers is true or not, the world can agree on one thing. A lot of people watch Jake Paul, and a lot of people watch him box. Bringing his celebrity following into the dying sport of boxing can only help the sport gain popularity.