Everyone keeps asking me about the Paul brothers when it comes to their boxing. I can admit that at the beginning, I just brushed right over the headlines announcing their upcoming fights. I was a huge skeptic and thought they were just another flash in the pan publicity stunt. While some of those opinions have remained, I’ve changed my mind on a lot of things. Whether or not you like the Paul brothers, here’s my personal take with some points worth reading.
Hard work
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Boxing is one of the toughest sports anyone can participate in. You can’t survive in a sport as difficult as boxing if you don’t work at it. Though Jake and Paul are both genetically gifted, no one is naturally amazing at boxing. You can be athletic but that’s only going to get you so far. It’s just like any other high-level skill that needs to be developed, especially when testing it against another athlete.
Take the example of Nate Robinson who is very athletic. Robinson didn’t take boxing as seriously as the Pauls and the result showed. He was immediately knocked out by Jake Paul, who worked hard then and continues to do so now. Both brothers understand the importance of hard work and are constantly looking for more challenge as they continue progressing.
Regardless of the Paul brothers’ influencer status, the point I want to make is that anyone can be successful in boxing as long as they have a solid work ethic and the focus necessary to achieve their goals. I will never hate on a man for working harder towards something and neither should you.
Shortcuts and Judgement
The flip side of the argument is that they were given a shortcut that most people will never have. Both Paul brothers seem to be getting opportunities that others just don’t get. They’re fighting guys like Mayweather and Tyron Woodley, guys that most people will never get the opportunity to step into the ring with. By the end of it all, they’ve also lived through it and continued to build on their momentum. Both brothers are creating unique heroes’ journeys which should leave more inspired than hateful. They’re writing a story for themselves unlike any other I’ve seen in my time. They might be a freak show for the sport of boxing, but freak shows sell tickets and they both are going down in the history books because of them.
We all start at different points
You shouldn’t hate people for having shortcuts in life. We all start at completely different points, some of them being completely unfair. While they may have been taking advantage of shortcuts in boxing, it’s only because of their hard work in other areas that created these opportunities. The Paul brothers put in a lot of work into becoming successful and well-known enough to be given such a prestigious opportunity. Never salt a man’s hustle when they’re working hard to achieve something out of their lives. Whether or not I agree on the type of stupid shit they did to get here is irrelevant. They worked hard (or at least worked), day in and day out, to produce content that someone may have found valuable.
Much like a boxer, they were working/training not knowing where it would lead, aiming towards the stars. You may hate on them, but they put in a lot of work that most won’t ever know about behind the scenes. You could say it was easy, but if it’s so easy then why don’t you go and do it? Go ahead, become a viral Youtuber celebrity first, I’ll wait. When you do, then I will listen.
Inspiring the Younger Generation
They’re inspiring young men to learn how to fight and do something as challenging as participate in boxing. Influencer’s influence, that’s literally what they do. They influence fashion, culture, behavior and ways to spend time. If you’re an influencer that does pranks or other stupid shit, that’s the kind of example you’re setting for your followers. I’m sure the Paul brothers have influenced a lot of young people to do a lot of dumb shit.
For the first time ever thought by participating in boxing, the Paul brothers are influencing kids in a much better way. Dare I say, maybe they’re even inspiring kids to lace up a pair of boxing gloves instead of just fist fighting in the street or wasting time on other stupid shit. I can personally admit boxing saved my life from a lot of other mischief I could have done as a kid. If I grew up in the YouTube generation of following guys like the Paul brothers then they would have definitely inspired me to try it.
Their followers are going to be influenced and inspired to try boxing out for themselves too. By trying, they’ll learn how difficult, challenging it is, or possible the thing they needed most. This could either inspire them to take it seriously as a positive outlet in their lives (much like the case of Jake Paul) or it will lead them to avoiding possible violent confrontations. Both outcomes in my eyes are good for society. People tend to talk a lot of shit without realizing what they (or their opponents) are actually capable of participating in combat will be a great reality check for most. This would lead to a much more peaceful society in my eyes. Boxing saved my life and it can definitely benefit yours, read my article to discover for more benefits.
From Bully to Boxer
Jake Paul openly admitted that he used to be a bully. This is because he didn’t have an outlet like boxing to keep him grounded. It’s very hard to be mean to people when you’ve either been humbled in the gym by someone or you’ve severely exhausted yourself from training. I used to walk around with a lot of pent-up aggression due to my traumatic home life. It wasn’t until I found boxing as an outlet to release this aggression did I even know what peace was.
I think a lot of young men in particular need this in our society nowadays. Instead of being bored at home which leads to addictions or doing dumb YouTube pranks this could give them a vessel to better themselves. I think this is exactly the case of the Paul brothers finding enlightenment through what boxing provided them. Jake Paul even started an anti-bullying charity, ‘Boxing Bullies’ to help others find the path of boxing. This is proving that you can go from a dickhead YouTuber and actually change for the better. By actively volunteering to participate in difficult challenges in life (boxing), we gain perspective into ourselves and the way we interact with others.
They’re not doing it for Money
The Paul brothers are making a shit ton of money boxing but according to Insider, they are not really doing it for money. Yes, they’re making millions of dollars, but they had millions prior to all this. In comparison to everything else they could be doing with their lives right now; they chose one of the hardest sports in the world. If they were after money, there’s a million other things they could do that would be much easier. Things that wouldn’t involve constant pain, diet, or discipline. Yet they still chose boxing to prove to the world and themselves that they are more than YouTubers.
In boxing, they could easily either end up one of the laughingstocks of the world or be the last ones laughing. We shall see but no one thought they could even get this far. It’s still a bit early to tell, but so far they’ve laughed their way straight to the bank as they’ve proved a lot of naysayers wrong.
The Paul Brothers are GOOD for Boxing
They’re generating more boxing fans from different walks of life. They bring in interest from the MMA world to casual fans and everything in between. They’re reviving the sport of boxing, which in my opinion was on life support for a lot of years. Other than the draw of a few big names boxing was not interesting a lot of people. Current champions could walk down the street and people wouldn’t even know who they are. The era of Iron Mike had passed in a lot of ways so people were not getting together to watch fights as much as before. There is a UFC event almost every week and MMA seemed to surpass boxing in recent years.
The Paul brothers were at least bringing that attention back. Various celebrity news would be mentioning it along with cross collaboration from other sports such as basketball with Nate Robinson, MMA with Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. No matter where you seemed to look when the freak show was in town everyone was noticing. From brining in the eyes of casual fan to diehard fight fans, people seemed to be excited to tune in and watch the result. Are they going to get knocked out? Can they really fight? Screw it, lets tune in and see.
You can’t fake boxing
Fighting at the end of the day isn’t something you can fake, and I have respect for the Paul brothers participating in it. They have to have some serious the balls to step into the ring unlike many other “influencers” and wannabe tough guys out there. This sport is as real as it gets. You can talk all the shit you want, but when fists start flying at you, you still need to do something about it. Not everyone that thinks they can box can actually walk the walk. Both the brothers have been able to prove that they are at least good enough to the degree to find enough success without being knocked out cold. What’s also impressive is that they were able to mentally face off with pro fighters like Mayweather and Woodley and not crumble in the face of their opposition.
Love them or hate them, no matter how you look at it you know who they are now more than ever.
If you enjoy this blog, have any questions or suggestions for future posts, please don’t hesitate to contact me at budoboxing@gmail.com.
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