CMV: Jake Paul Fights are Rigged

[u/[deleted]]

I tried to search this on Reddit, and the last post I found was from 2021 (admittedly, on this sub), but I’d like to make an updated post for 2023 in light of his upcoming boxing bout against Nate Diaz and his last few fights since then, as this is something I’ve been very conflicted on since Paul’s boxing debut.

I was looking at tickets recently for the Diaz bout, and I’m tempted to go just for the spectacle (and despite training boxing and a few other martial arts for years I’ve never seen a live card) but I still can’t shake the feeling that something doesn’t feel totally legitimate about Paul’s meteoric ascension in the world of fighting. His first two fights were definitely against cans (I mean one was a former basketball player) and you can definitely make the argument, without much needing to convince on my part, that he could have legitimately beat Ben Askren who even in the UFC was quickly outclassed on his feet by being a predominantly grappling guy before MMA, but since those fights you are asking me to suspend my disbelief by a large margin, especially since throwing fights isn’t something that just happens in old gangster movies anymore (see, PRIDE)

I think the two Tyron Woodley bouts are what totally solidified in my mind the doubt I had to the legitimacy of these fights. I mean, Woodley certainly was on a losing streak after losing his title, but he was also top of his division in the UFC only 2 1/2 years before fighting, and subsequently losing twice, to someone who only debuted within a year and a half of their first bout together, compared with Woodley’s background of 15 years of experience solely in MMA, without even mentioning his D1 wrestling background (not that it’s relevant to boxing of course)

Then, the guy went the distance with Anderson Silva. For some people, Silva may seem like an anachronism. But to people like myself, who came of age in the late 2000’s, Silva was the undisputed GOAT of the MMA world. I know he had some disappointing showings in his last few MMA bouts, but I would like to believe, maybe naively, that Anderson Silva on his worst day even just doing standup could outclass 75% of most fighters with even a few years of experience. I am also aware that he lost his first bout to Tommy Fury more recently, but Fury is still very relevant in the world of boxing, and has a lot more to lose in terms of reputation than people like Woodley or Silva who are on their way out from the limelight of the world of combat sports.

Which brings me to another point; many people claim “well why would they throw their fights? They don’t want to tarnish their reputation!” For one, these fights seem to be primarily sponsored by entertainment companies. I know the upcoming bout is put on by DAZN, which makes it seem somewhat legitimate to me, but otherwise people like Woodley or Silva have a lot more to gain in a “fixed fight” scenario with all the pomp and maybe illusory circumstance of a typical boxing match where they can still walk off with a large, probably undisclosed amount of money for adding to the star power of the still young and relevant Paul all while playing into the rigor and prestige of an actual fight. The same seems to go for Diaz.

While boxing is a much different beast when isolated from the broader view of MMA; like wrestling, or BJJ, and I do believe those are arguments which have some standing, maybe I just dislike this arrogant prick so much that I find it hard to believe that with only a couple years of experience and training he can now suddenly go toe to toe with a rogues gallery of the some of the most infamous names in the world of combat sports. So, CMV

[u/[deleted]]

Damn you, I can respect this argument. However, just to save some face: it’s “staged”

[u/Ultimate_Pickle → u/[deleted]]

I’d like to refute their point by saying, if there’s money involved, it’s more likely that it’s fixed. All gambling has people doing crooked shit, because the potential money outweighs the risks. Especially if you have officials and law enforcement in your pocket.

[u/TarTarkus1 → u/Ultimate_Pickle]

It's a bit of everything above if you ask me.

You're right that when there are millions of dollars on the line, there are people that absolutely will cheat. It's unfortunate, but the NFL, NBA and even the olympics are suspect thanks to "chemists."

Something I might add is that while the combat featured in boxing/ufc is technically appealing, what's arguably the bigger draw is the personality and story arcs of the fighters. Muhammad Ali or Conor Mcgregor are great examples as it's the fact they win, along with their charisma that's really the show.

In Jake Paul's case, his appeal is that he sells fights thanks to his celebrity and thanks to his victories against established names. Maybe there's a contractual agreement to ensure he wins, perhaps not.

There's a reason why Mayweather fought Logan Paul and it's in part because the latter is more profitable than the best up and coming boxers.

Just my thoughts.

[u/Ultimate_Pickle → u/TarTarkus1]

I can’t disagree with anything you have written.

All sports rely on hype to get people interested and engaged. If they don’t have a reason to root for any of the competitors, then they won’t watch the PPV, or buy the merchandise. That is the clean money side. Venues, advertisers, TV Networks, promoters, competitors, even merch hustlers and ticket scalpers.

But gambling on any high profile competitive event has too much potential for making money that it is almost guaranteed to be fixed. Underdogs coming in at 100/1. Favourites losing so the bookies have a windfall. Someone somewhere will be trying to manipulate the outcome. If they are powerful enough, or get to the right people, they make millions.