Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua: Netflix boxing fight analysis
The awkwardness between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul has reached the point where the fight was released on Netflix under a cloud of suspicion that boxing has given itself over to choreography.
To be clear, this was a sanctioned professional competition, not a scripted event, and the story it produced was banal and predictably one-sided.
The in-ring event was lackluster; It was a slow, downbeat watch that would struggle to even get a charitable rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
And the biggest irony is that this show gave Joshua one of his biggest paydays and arguably one of his biggest television audiences.
With seconds remaining in the fourth round, referee Christopher Young perhaps spoke for viewers around the world when he gathered the fighters together and called for action.
He directed his comments at Paul, saying: “Fans didn’t pay to see this nonsense.”
“Amen,” replied Netflix reviewer Mauro Ranallo. “By the call of the night, Christopher Young.”
Joshua has been talking about “carrying boxing on his back” all week. He unloaded in Miami on Friday night, but only after a strange and laborious process.
Paul was there to survive.
The man who spent fight week promising the biggest upset in sports history instead avoided conflict.
He circled endlessly, making the most of the space provided by a ring two feet wider than normal, trying to slow down the clock.
When he made contact there were echoes of his schoolboy experience as a wrestler, constantly moving down and grabbing Joshua’s leg.
Paul had a disgraceful lack of punches and Joshua had a wild series of strikes that even a novice like his opponent could easily evade.
“It’s a win but not a success,” Joshua said afterwards. “I have a lot of improvement to do. I’m not happy.”
Joshua collected his share of the reported £210 million purse, but from a boxing perspective and for those who stayed up into the early hours to watch in the UK, the contest was pointless.
