How YouTubers Have Changed Boxing

With the Mike Tyson Jake Paul boxing event recently passing, it was a monumental spot for the sport. Even though the performance of the two fighters in the ring was poor, as many fans would say online, it still had many achievements. It was the first sporting event streamed on Netflix. According to CNBC, “More than 60 million households watched the fight worldwide on Netflix.” Los Angeles Times said, “The fight brought in a gate of more than $18 million.” These achievements show how much boxing has changed as a sport and how much YouTube and social media have impacted boxing.

Social media has brought a lot of new fans to the sport of boxing. Some of this is credited to the YouTube boxing scene. Popular creators on the platform such as The Paul brothers: Jake and Logan Paul, KSI, and many others, have brought a lot of young fans’ attention to the sport. With a lot of creator fights, this draws their young fans to watch their favorite YouTuber take on another one of their favorites. One of the biggest YouTube boxing events would have to be KSI vs Logan Paul II. Their first had a lot of traction and their second would just bring in more fans to the sport. Business Insider stated, “It was the 5th most streamed sports event on DAZN that year.”

Jake isn’t the only YouTuber to fight boxing legends as Logan Paul fought Mayweather in 2021. Mayweather would say he made up to $100 million after his fight with Logan. But not only retired boxers have fought YouTubers. With fights like KSI taking on popular UK rapper Swarmz or the countless number of former UFC fighters who have taken on Jake Paul.

Now, YouTube hasn’t been the only reason for boxing’s recent resurgence as other social media have also allowed for new ways of marketing fights. Twitter and Instagram have given new ways to promote fights and boxing seems to only be rising. There are a lot of ways these social media platforms have allowed this. One of these ways is fan engagement and interaction. Social media allows fans to discuss these fights and come up with potential dream matches while also trying to get certain fighters to fight each other. This helps boxing promoters set up matches that fans want to see and tease potential matches down the line.

With boxing and internet icons coming together more often now, boxing is seeming to rise with more retired athletes and fighters looking for a way to make a quick bag or to stay in the light of relevancy or young social media stars looking for a new interest it only backs up boxing’s resurgence.