Youtube star turned boxer, Jake Paul, is far from a fan of rival KSI’s Misfits Boxing.
KSI, another Youtuber who ventured into the squared circle, launched his promotion in 2022 – with boxing matches that are mainly comprised of celebrities and social media influencers. The events are carried by streaming service DAZN.
The Misfits events are receiving mixed reviews, with longtime observers warning that someone is going get seriously hurt.
KSI has been pushing the envelope, by experimenting with controversial concepts like ‘tag-team boxing.’
According to Paul, the events are more of a ‘circus’ than actual ‘boxing.’
“I think it is definitely on the WWE-side of things. And it’s definitely a separate thing than the boxing purists should be interested in. But I do see how it has entertainment value. The problem with it is that they call it ‘boxing’ and ‘influencer boxing. It’s just more like this circus spectacle, which is fine but let’s not ruin the sport of boxing,” Paul said, according to The Sun.
“Because I think influencer boxing added fans to the sport and brought more respect and credibility when people were taking it very, very seriously and putting on really good fights. Now they’re doing tag-teams and it’s all these different weight classes, they’re only fighting like two or three rounds. Like, that’s not a sport, go in there [and] fight six rounds, do a proper f——- training camp, get f——- good and respect the sport.
“So, I see how it could bring more fans but I just don’t want it to turn into this like, WWE thing. And it’s nothing against the WWE – I love the WWE – but in terms of boxing, it’s just different.”
Paul also started his own promotion with Most Valuable Promotions.
However, Paul promotes actual boxers like undisputed world champion Amanda Serrano and undefeated prospect Ashton Sylve.
Like KSI, Paul signed a multi-event deal with DAZN to put together a series of boxing events – which are going to be called the Most Valuable Prospect series.
Paul and his team are planning to use the new series to showcase top boxing prospects.
“I just love this sport and I’m surrounded by real fighters all the time. Most Valuable Prospects will be real, young, hungry boxers who have been fighting their whole entire life and we want to give them a platform in a professional way,” Paul said.
“I want to find the next Muhammad Ali, the next Mike Tyson, through Most Valuable Prospects. I’m not trying to find the next Salt Papi and all this stuff. It’s fun but I’m trying to grow the next generation of talent and boxers and help women’s boxing and sign world champions and get the paydays that they deserve.
“This WWE, Misfits sh!t is kind of a separate side thing that I don’t really care about.”