Introduction
The sheer popularity of combat sports isn’t a new phenomenon. Competitive boxing can be dated back to the Ancient Olympics in 688 BC; Wrestling was twenty years before that. The human race’s fascination with combat sports goes back millennia, and in 2023, fighting still appeals to our primal instincts.
Combat sports and entertainment go side-by-side, more so today than ever before. Technological advancements have changed how we consume fighting, which has had a considerable impact on how the product is delivered to the punter. For boxing fans aged 30 and over, you will remember the hysteria of the Mike Tyson era. Ordering the pay-per-view involved somebody phoning up an operator, providing their card details, then cramping around a small television to watch Tyson dispatch his opponent within sixty seconds. If you didn’t simultaneously record the fight on VHS to watch back at a later date, tough luck, as this was your only shot.
As internet usage increased exponentially at the turn of the millennia, the emergence of social media changed the way we consume fighting. The algorithms know what you spend time looking at, so if you miss a fight live, no problem. Good luck trying to avoid any spoilers if you look at your smartphone at any point over the following days.
Great marketers picked up on this early, and many embraced the technological changes; they moved with the times. Many of these people were a new form of marketer – the YouTubers. They saw an opportunity to capitalize on their digital following, and only a few would have envisaged that some of these YouTubers would put their keyboards away and lace up some gloves, but they did just that. Sure, crossover bouts happened before this, but they usually involved fighters from different combat sports disciplines competing against each other. YouTubers have become mainstream, some even think they can beat real fighters, and people are interested.
Origins of the crossover bout
Boxing has been around for a lot longer than mixed-martial arts; however, the two combat sports have crossed over more than people imagine it to have done. In 1976, Muhammad Ali fought Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki in an absurd fight that drew criticism from all quarters. The rules stipulated that Inoki could only fight off his back, and Ali threw just six punches across fifteen rounds.
At UFC 1 on November 12, 1993, boxer Art Jimmerson faced the MMA legend and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pioneer Royce Gracie, losing the contest in the third minute after being dominated before eventually submitting. Comically, Jimmerson came into the bout wearing just one boxing glove, hoping his free hand would serve him well. Gracie kept him at a distance with multiple front kicks before quickly taking Jimmerson to the ground and finishing the fight.
Almost twenty years later, in August 2010, the three-weight boxing world champion James Toney fought the former two-weight UFC champion, Randy Couture, under an MMA ruleset. Couture won the fight comfortably, submitting Toney in the first round with an arm-triangle choke.
In more recent times, ex-boxers have had success when making the switch to MMA. After multiple world title holder Holm made the switch and signed with the UFC, she defeated the long-reigning, seemingly unbeatable Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in November 2015. Interestingly, after landing several punches, it was a head kick from Holm which floored Rousey and not her fists. Ground and pound shortly followed, and the referee waved off the fight, with Holm winning via TKO in the second round.
Fighters are fighters; they are competitive by nature. Rumors regarding crossover bouts are now the norm, and many of these rumors have been found to have substance. These types of fights appeal to people. We want to see the best fighter face the best boxer, and more and more, we actually get to see it.
Floyd Mayweather Vs. Conor McGregor
It speaks to the level of superstar that Conor McGregor is when rumors began to circulate of a potential mega-fight between the two even before he was a champion in the UFC. When asked on the Conan O’Brien talk show whether he would like to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing ring, ‘The Notorious’ confirmed that he would, and this set off a social media slanging match between both camps.
The public lapped up the hysteria and in the meantime, McGregor went on to defeat the long-reigning champion Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight title. Not stopping there, McGregor then became the first simultaneous two-weight UFC Champion in November 2016 by dethroning lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, and by now, he was truly a global megastar. A fight between him and Mayweather gained more and more traction.
Mayweather seemed game for the fight, and once he realized that McGregor wasn’t all bark and no bite, the bout was agreed upon, and the pair went on a world tour to promote the fight, drawing huge crowds everywhere they went. ‘MayMac’ became the second biggest combat sports pay-per-view of all time with a reported 4.3 million buys, behind only Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (4.6 million).
Considering the fact that not many experts gave Conor McGregor a chance, he put up a good fight, out-landing Floyd Mayweather in the opening five rounds by 51-40, throwing an impressive uppercut in the process. The tide turned from round six as McGregor failed to sustain the high output, resulting in Mayweather taking control. From round six onwards, Mayweather out-landed McGregor 130-60.
Some argue that Mayweather was just baiting McGregor in the first half of the fight and could have ended the contest in whichever round of his choosing. That may well be true; however, the stats show that McGregor landed more shots on Mayweather than Manny Pacquiao managed to, and while the result went the way that most expected, compared to the farcical crossover bouts in earlier years such as Jimmerson vs. Gracie and Ali vs. Inoki, Mayweather vs. McGregor was overall, quite entertaining.
Youtuber Boxing | Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul
Following the McGregor fight, Mayweather once again retired from professional boxing, boasting a perfect record of 50-0. He wasn’t done with boxing entirely, though. Rather shrewdly, after fighting McGregor – a non-boxer – Mayweather saw an opportunity to continue fighting against non-qualified opponents for an easy payday and began to have exhibition fights. Since ‘MayMac,’ he has fought in seven exhibition fights against both fighters from other disciplines and social media stars, the most-high profile being against YouTuber Logan Paul. Their fight on June 6, 2021, changed the direction of crossover boxing.
Before the fight, YouTuber boxing had already taken off, particularly in the United Kingdom thanks to influencers such as Joe Weller and KSI, who drew big crowds for their previous events. These events gained traction with a new market; young people, particularly adolescent boys, who otherwise wouldn’t have had much interest in boxing. Purists denounced this new fighting genre, claiming it damaged the sport. In contrast, others like Matchroom CEO and top boxing promoter Eddie Hearn saw it as a lucrative opportunity to introduce new fans to the sport. Hearn, to the anger of some in the boxing world, promoted the Logan Paul vs. KSI rematch in November 2019.
Jake Paul vs. the UFC (and Dana White)
Before boxing ex-UFC stars, Jake Paul followed in his brother Logan’s footsteps with an amateur bout against YouTuber Deji. He then turned professional and boxed fellow YouTuber Ali Eson Gib in January 2020 before facing off against former New York Knicks star, the NBA’s Nate Robinson. Paul dispatched both men with relative ease and with a professional record of 2-0, he set his sights on Ben Askren, who had recently retired from MMA, citing issues with his hip preventing him from competing at the highest level.
Askren was known as a world-class wrestler and had very limited striking ability. Paul won the fight in the first round via TKO, which led people to criticize Askren for not taking the fight seriously. Askren came into the bout looking noticeably worse from a physical standpoint when compared to his MMA days and was accused of solely fighting for the money. As a result, Jake Paul didn’t get much credit despite beating a well-accomplished fighter. He targeted the former UFC Welterweight Champion, Tyron Woodley, as his next opponent, someone with genuine knockout power.
Much to the surprise of many, Jake Paul beat Tyron Woodley twice, once on points and then by a devastating knockout in the rematch. Paul’s popularity and notoriety increased during this period, and he began to publicly criticize the UFC President, Dana White, over the issue of fighter pay. A few months later, Paul released a diss track mocking White.
White responded to Jake Paul on more than one occasion, criticizing him for cherry-picking his opponents who were well past their fighting prime and significantly older than Paul. White said that Paul wouldn’t dare to fight someone like Anderson Silva and gave the impression he thought that the former YouTuber wouldn’t stand a chance against ‘The Spider.’
The comment backfired as Paul fought and defeated Silva in the boxing ring on October 29, 2022. As per their pre-fight agreement, should Paul be the victor, Silva would have to help him set up a fighters union, which aims to empower fighters to receive better compensation in terms of pay, healthcare, and more favorable contract terms in general. Paul and Silva’s project is still very much a work in progress and, according to Bloody Elbow’s report, is fraught with obstacles to overcome.
Are crossover bouts damaging to the UFC and Boxing?
Depends who you ask. As mentioned earlier in the article, boxing purists haven’t been shy about criticizing crossover bouts. A common argument often given is that such contests devalue the sport and are an insult to serious, professional boxers who have trained their whole life to make it to the top, only for a YouTuber or UFC / MMA star to steal their limelight.
A counter-argument to this would be that combat sports is also the entertainment business. Making it to stardom requires more than talent; you must have charisma, be a self-promoter, and perhaps even have a significant and engaged social media following. Without these things, no matter how good of a fighter somebody may be, it could be a long road to achieve the recognition a fighter feels they truly deserve. In boxing, that’s where an MMA fighter or YouTuber can step in. They already have a ‘name’ and can generate both interest and sales at the drop of a hat, which is music to the ears of networks, venues, promoters, and the fighters themselves.
Negative attitudes from prominent figures in relation to crossover bouts have proven to be hypocritical. Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya openly criticized the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight before later saying that he would be willing to fight McGregor himself. These comments drew criticism from UFC President Dana White, who labeled De La Hoya as a hypocrite, amongst other things, during a couple of expletive-laden statements to the media.
Dana White recently said that crossover, or ‘gimmick’ fights, were not what he does; he only wants to see the best fighting the best. Shortly after he said this, White revealed to TMZ that he was on the phone with both Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to see if they would be willing to fight, potentially in the UFC. It’s also worth noting that ex-WWE star CM Punk and the former NFL star Greg Hardy have been given UFC contracts in recent years.
Even Eddie Hearn, the boxing promoter, held meetings to try and sign Francis Ngannou to a fight under Matchroom boxing, and since his fight was announced with Tyson Fury, which Hearn isn’t involved with, he has subtly criticized the fight in various media appearances.
When the names mentioned above criticize crossover bouts, it’s likely to do with protecting their own interests. When fans criticize crossover bouts, it’s because they want to see the best fight the best – which rarely happens in boxing due to politics within the governing bodies, greedy promoters, and obsession with protecting, in most cases, the padded record of fighters.
For the most part, fighters don’t get much of a say in who they fight in the UFC, thanks to being a sports league with one promoter at the helm and just one belt in each weight class. Great for fans, but not necessarily for the fighters, whose pay is pre-determined by the multi-fight contracts they sign, except for; pay-per-view points (if they are champion), performance-related bonuses, or the menial remuneration they receive from UFC sponsors.
So once again, in answer to the question, ‘Are crossover bouts damaging to the UFC and Boxing?’ – it depends on who you ask. If you asked the fighters competing, I’d imagine they would say no, because they are getting compensated for what they feel is (finally) deserved while providing entertainment for the fans.
A flash in the pan? DAZN doesn’t think so
Is the crossover genre a fad? Many still think it is. However, it isn’t going away, and fights continue to be made, much to the annoyance of ‘hardcores.’ Crossover bouts are still gaining significant media interest, and people are tuning in; the novelty has yet to wear off.
In January 2023, the streaming service DAZN and KSI’s boxing promotion, ‘Misfits Boxing’ signed a deal that gives exclusive rights to the former to show all of the YouTube star’s upcoming bouts. Titled ‘MF&DAZN: X Series,’ the streaming platform hopes to attract a broader audience to the sweet science by attracting a younger audience to the sport who perhaps wouldn’t have watched the sport otherwise. If other platforms begin to sign YouTubers to long-term broadcasting deals, then these kinds of bouts are something we’ll all need to get accustomed to.
Conclusion
There are many reasons that crossover bouts get made. We have seen them on our television screens for fifty years, so it’s lazy to suggest they are just a fad; they are becoming more frequent.
Money talks, and with the criticism leveled towards the UFC that they do not compensate their fighters enough in terms of the revenue share the fighters generate for the company, some begin to look elsewhere. Even if UFC fighters were paid more, high-profile boxing events usually generate more income, sometimes eight figures for the headline fighters. It’s enough money for heads to be turned, even those with substantial wealth, such as Conor McGregor.
Whether these types of fights are good or bad for their respective sports can be debated until the cows come home. One thing is for sure; crossover bouts are here to stay, at least for now.
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