Are you not entertained…?
Jake Paul. Influencer boxing. Some say it’s good for the sport of boxing because it draws in new fans, which in turn generates more interest in boxing, which in turn generates more viewers, and which ultimately gets down to money. That’s good for the people who it benefits, but like trickle-down economics it usually only benefits those who already have it. Who it doesn’t benefit are those who deserve it. Jake Paul and those like him maybe be financially wealthy, but they are poor interns of what boxing truly provides: all the things that make a community and a sense of belonging.
Jake Paul is worth a lot of money. He can hire the best strength and conditioning coaches and the best boxing coaches. Despite that, what he can’t ever do is be an elite boxer. He will never be the the top of the game. Why? Because he is an entertainer, a celebrity (why we “celebrate” narcissistic loud mouth blowhards, I will never understand). He is not a boxer. Those of us who know the sport, study the sweet science, who understand why the body moves like it does, who understand strategy and conditioning, we see him flail around throwing punches that miss or have little effect. It might look good, but it’s not boxing.
We all want to see a good fight, a knock down, a knockout. We all want to be entertained (Can you hear Russell Crowe echo in your head, “Are you not entertained!?). At the end of the day, entertainment is cheap, it’s easy, and really, anybody can entertain. Boxing is not any of those things. It is hard work, dedication, bringing your body to its physical limits during training. And it isn’t just during the six weeks of training camp. It’s a lifestyle and it takes a whole team of support. Real support, not the kind that you can buy. People who care about you, believe in you, people who see your success as their success.
While training Aaron for competition, we went to the Ring of Hope Boxing Club in Schenectady, NY for sparring. One, we don’t have a ring of our own or a boxing community up here in Saranac Lake. Two, I visited the R of H a couple times before that and felt the vibe in the gym. It was community. It was sacrifice. It was dedication. It was caring, respect, discipline. It was family. There are several gyms I could have taken Aaron to for sparring down state, but this is the only one I wanted to take him to, because the R of H is what boxing truly is. It’s a community of people with something in common, and that everyone understands it belongs to them individually and collectively. After our first sparring session, Aaron told me, “I really didn’t know what to expect, how they would treat me as an outsider, but I was amazed at how they just accepted me, how they listened to the coaches and were supportive even though they didn’t know who I am.”
Avery, one of the boxers at R of H is 12 years old. Just before turning 12, he won a Silver Glove National Championship in Missouri. He was featured on local and national news broadcasts. This kid is the real deal. He floats more than he steps, his punches are accurate, efficient and effective, and his defense is solid. You would think that he runs around the gym like a celebrity, but you’d be wrong. He is a boxer, and he is treated accordingly. This does not mean they don’t acknowledge his achievement; on the contrary they honor his achievement by keeping him grounded, focused and making him an even better boxer because they care about him as a person. He is not a commodity, something to be leveraged to self-aggrandize or further their own ambitions. Avery will grow up into a talented and self-confident boxer because he will believe in himself, because he was taught by people who believe in him but also expect him the keep training as a member of the community.
Jake Paul can have all the money in the world, but he will never have this. And that makes him poor. Bereft. He will never know who his community truly is or who are his true friends because he made himself a commodity, not a person. He is an entertainer. That’s the choice he made. He and those like him are turning boxing into spectacle, and if influencer/exhibition “boxing” is what brings in money, it will kill the sport. So where does that leave genuine boxers like Avery and places dedicated to the sport of boxing and boxers like the Ring of Hope Boxing Club?