STEELE SPORTS

As much as I’d like to tell you all that I was able to ignore last weekend’s Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury celebrity boxing match that saw Fury win a tight split decision, it would go against my moral code to lie… I did indeed watch it.

Between falling victim to Paul’s villain-esque intrigue and my love for the Fury family, I simply had no choice other than to tune in for the bout.

What I witnessed fell miles short of my expectations.

To date, all of Paul’s spectacles seemed to reach a certain level of showmanship.

Despite his boxing still lacking polish, every event still felt like it highlighted a genuine fight that showed progression.

This time around, the YouTuber’s punches played second fiddle to both men’s love of the clinch – certainly to the disappointment of viewers worldwide who have watched Paul’s game grow.

While I cannot take away from Paul’s accomplishments in beating some pretty big names these past few years, what I can say is that this fight was surely a step back for boxing.

The sweet science used to make calculated violence look beautiful – nowadays it seems as if fans are more interested in paying for clickbait backyard brawls with satin trunks and shiny gloves.

Quite honestly, brawls might even be a loosely used term in this instance as the highest total strikes landed in any round came from Fury, when he recorded 17 landed punches in the sixth round.

Low outputs, plenty of clinching and split-decision victories are the nightmare of boxing promoters and fans alike.

The worst part about it all is that I have heard more about this fight in the past few months than I have about legends such as Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davis combined.

We are watching the downfall of boxing with front-row seats, and it’s sad to see a sport that once had so much money and fame lose its shine to a new era of audiences that don’t value the tradition of the sport.

Boxing needs the Mike Tysons, Terence Crawfords and Tyson Furys of the world to keep the next generation of young fighters hungry and motivated to earn their way to the top.

What the sport surely does not need is a bunch of internet-famous entertainers looking to make a quick buck.