Jake Paul, Andrew Tate, And The Weekend Boxing Decided Not To Follow The Script

Jake Paul probably had no idea that a fight with a former unified heavyweight champion meant actually fighting with an opponent who towered over him, both in size and strength. To his credit, though, his claim to boxing fame was defeating opponents who were way past their prime. So, on 19th December at the Kaseya Center in Miami, when Anthony Joshua finally cornered the YouTuber after his attempts at dodging Joshua’s attacks, Paul's reaction became a meme instantly.

The following night in Dubai, four-time kickboxing champion turned manosphere influencer and alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate faced a similar fate. He made his boxing debut ten years after retiring from professional kickboxing and five years after his last sporting event. His opponent, Chase DeMoor, better known for his reality TV star status than his Misfits Boxing Heavyweight Champion title, lacked technique, but made up for it with his size. By the final belt, Tate looked spent, and DeMoor retained his title with two out of three judges declaring the result in his favour and another calling it a draw. 

Matches like these, mainly held to capitalise on the influencers’ hype and earn views, famously do not deliver on actual performance. Everyone knew Jake Paul had no chance against one of the best boxers on the planet. Add to that the fact that Paul was not fit to compete in the heavyweight division in the first place. Andrew Tate and Chase DeMoor, too, had a similar mismatch, although DeMoor is nowhere close to the experience and finesse that Paul put up with in his match with Joshua.

But if these fights lack the intensity of “real” matches, then why hold them in the first place? Well, for one thing, let me take you back to when you first realised that many martial arts championships are either scripted or predetermined. For example, at the highly publicised match last winter, everyone expected Mike Tyson to take down Jake Paul without much difficulty. Sure, he was sixty, but this is Mike Tyson we’re talking about. At the ring, however, an entirely different story unfolded, and to everyone’s surprise, Paul had a unanimous victory in what became the most-streamed sporting event in history. Authorities confirmed that the fight was not fixed, although Paul himself claimed that he pulled punches out of respect. What was the truth? We probably will never know. 

This is not a one-off incident. Incidents of match fixing have been going around as far back as the 40s. Even Muhammad Ali has been investigated for fixing allegations. You could argue that they help ensure that there’s “drama” in the sport, often at the cost of integrity.

Which brings us to this weekend. Seeing two fights unfold just the way people thought they would feels surprisingly fresh. Add to that the online personas of Jake Paul, and it seems like the night was a cultivation of the internet’s vendetta against him for the embarrassment he caused to Tyson last year. The irony of Andrew Tate, the “Top G” and figurehead of the alpha male movement, losing to a relatively amateur opponent in pretty pink gloves and pink boxer shorts is not lost on the internet, either.

As of now, Paul suffers from a double broken jaw. Taking to Instagram, he said, “Surgery went well thanks for all the love and support. 2 titanium plates on each side. Some teeth removed. Have to have only liquids for 7 days.”

Tate, on the other hand, claims that his match was predetermined by a higher power. “Maybe the win means more to Chase than it would have meant to me. Maybe Chase couldn't handle the loss. Maybe God decided, 'You know what, Chase has been through enough with mocking and things on the internet. Chase doesn't need the loss right now. Andrew can handle the loss better.' Maybe God decided that.”