The thing about David, as far as historians can tell, is that he didn’t even have an Instagram account. He was just a poor shepherd boy who found himself in an uphill battle against the giant Goliath. It’s doubtful that Nakisa Bedaryan would have supported such an unremarkable person even after the upset, but somehow Jake Paul saw enough of David in himself to turn a declining Miami into God’s Valley.
Anthony Joshua didn’t exactly want to play Goliath on Friday night either. People forget that Goliath stood 9 feet tall and 9 feet flat, which is one of the reasons he was so favored over the Shepherd’s Child. If anything, Joshua was half proud of his opponent Paul for kicking him with the winning lottery ticket for the biggest payday of his life. The only thing he had to do was not mess things up. To go out there and flog Jake Paul like a heavyweight champion who — as Netflix’s play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo put it — “hit harder than a diss track.”
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It took a while, but in the end, this is what happened. A sixth round of euthanasia in the corner, with Paul resting his damaged body on the buckles. Joshua unleashed a powerful jab there and at the moment when Paul’s hands dropped to instinctively keep his midsection, his right hand came clean over the top to preserve its reputation. The force reached Paul’s jaw line, and Paul fell where he was standing. Paul, forever the showman, left his mouth wide open as if to film his shock as he collected himself on the canvas. When Joshua looked over his shoulder, you could say he literally looked his talented horse in the mouth.
What he saw looked like a broken jaw.
I was supposed to feel good, right? Seeing Paul get fired?
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As we expected endlessly on “Why, Jake Paul?” Questions, one of the reasons for Friday’s arrest was to see him get fired. Yes, we’re not asking for 58 year old Mike Tyson’s battery back, yes, but honestly for the whole heist. He’s a huge nuisance to boxing, the guy who came in and very carefully rearranged the furniture that the purists had put up to their liking. The man who woke up and did road work at only six in the morning after Slipping into your silk pajamas, just to make out with the boxing great. The hateful vortex that has come to mean business to those associated with it.
Paul does not generate faith so much as he challenges it. We needed to see it sorted out.
Or did we? Maybe it was never there needs To see any of them. If all this is just a lark, shouldn’t it be fun? After the Jake Paul fight, the last word anyone uses is “fun.” If anything, this time there was too much “I give him credit for getting in there!” Talk as well “Much respect to Jake Paul for this heartfelt show.”
fair enough. It’s not easy going from a date against the 5-foot-5 Gervonta Davis to the 6-foot-6 Anthony Joshua, and Paul has reached the sixth round. Much longer than people expected. He hit some big shots, and threw a few, too. He – she He was A show of heart, but it was also a show of business acumen. Of the 10,000 fighters in mixed martial arts and boxing, they would all take an eight-figure payday to fight Anthony Joshua. All of them, with the exception of the difficult Francis Ngannou, will do the same to fight Jake Paul.
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What Paul had was a win-win for every fighter who stood against him. He did not enter through the front door, as Ranallo also stated, “He created his own entrance.” uninvited. embellished. More than a little titled. As ubiquitous as 1980s subway graffiti, and aesthetically pleasing. He came out in his Hulkamania gear, the scream kid of our era, while 6ix9ine laid out the soundtrack to match. It was the reason behind the free Friday night battle on Netflix. He was the reason Netflix brought together a cast of characters, who all struggled in their own way to make sense of what they were watching. What does any of it mean?
Curiosity once followed Geraldo Rivera down to Al Capone’s graves. When people realized they were empty, well, you know. That was it.
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Somewhere last night, probably on Paul’s fifth or sixth takedown attempt, the makeup started to wear off and the strange thing could be seen sliding underneath. For the first few rounds, they weren’t even fighting. Joshua was condemned on social media for Paul’s slowness, for taking his time. People were saying he didn’t care about boxing and that he should quit. It was a disgrace. These are the costs of Paul’s battle. You can’t win even if you win. Either you beat him up quickly and easily, or you’re in cahoots with the unnamed one who’s annoying everyone.
Eventually, that familiar feeling that accompanies all Jake Paul fights settled in.
empty.
Anyway, at least the “reform” chorus hasn’t completely swelled. Maybe it was because Paul threatened to sue anyone who gave that lazy account before throwing the first punches, but this time people were torn about what they were watching. Many saw it as a complete failure. Some saw a display of bravery. Some have seen enough.
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However, have we seen enough?
Paul says he wants to take some time away and get back to fighting at his normal weight, to fight at cruiserweight. Return to the normal path, if such a path exists for him. He loves boxing. When asked about the silver linings, he said it was all good, “I’ve already won in life.” There’s no denying that, but it’s not the greatest feel-good story ever in boxing.
Jake Paul is a lot of things, but David is not.