To reduce doubt and hopefully alleviate the anger of anyone who wants a short, definite argument. only The answer to the question in the headline of this article is no, it definitely isn’t. Chances are neither you nor I will be watching Claressa Shields, a woman, share a boxing ring with Jake Paul, a man, this year or any time soon, and this spoiler shouldn’t disappoint or surprise. Vague talk about this happening Whether it’s by Shields or anyone else, it’s likely no more than an attempt to attract attention at a time when interest is hard to come by in a market full of buyers willing to jump the queue.
This is simply not true of the headline of this article. Written in early January during a sale. In fact The only difference between Shields and Paul as a concept and the article’s distorted headline is that the article’s claim is revealed in the opening sentence. Pinch your eyes to speak It parodies the tendency of battles to take place, yes, but as soon as hands are revealed and true intent is shown. By stating quickly but not proudly that This is not an attempt to stimulate discussion. But it’s a basic and cynical attempt to attract attention in the early years. That comes after a year of headline-grabbing fights that no one asked to do. Look, everyone is finally watching.
In other words, if 2024 has shaped the future of boxing, it will be. No one has a choice but to play by the rules in 2025: You give them what they want. Even if they tell you they don’t need it. or something like that
Here, mention of Shields fighting Paul is like many fights. The time we saw in 2024 was nothing but a thirst trap. It should not be taken seriously. Not much to explore And it serves to emphasize how distorted our thinking is in the realm of both content and attention-grabbing combat.
Regarding the latter, three years ago. Shields first called Paul to share a $100,000 practice match, and the world laughed. two years ago She came up with the idea of a real boxing match. And in the last year or so, people are starting to get interested in the idea. So they were fed up with Paul playing dress-up as a boxer and doing everything he could to fight other people. More than a real boxer Given everything we’ve seen in 2024, one day the thought of Shields A woman fighting Paul, a man, just isn’t as realistic or funny as it was three years ago.
“I would beat him in a fight,” Shields said in a recent interview with Boxing over time– “The biggest and strongest guy won’t win every fight. So what is the difference here? I’ve been boxing for 18 years. He has a penis. I have a vagina, I understand, but what about the skills I have? Doesn’t that matter because I’m a woman? He must destroy me He must be able to hit me. I must be able to destroy him. I have to be able to attack him. There are some things I can do that he doesn’t even know about.”
On that last point, Shields was not wrong. Looking at the two of them wearing gloves on stage, Then you’ll be able to quickly determine which of the two was born to do it. And which of the two people only did it because they were paid a lot of money to do it? But one of those two is a 170-pound woman and the other is a 200-pound man, and this is what the Shields vs. Paul analysis will say. At least in this article
It’s better to focus on what makes Shields vs. Paul look less ridiculous this January than it did this time last year. Rest assured that intrigue or newfound credibility has little to do with equal rights. Or because men and women are now closer together in terms of physical strength and athletic prowess than ever before? But if you want the truth, you have to expand your imagination a lot. and in boxing We have a fan base that is used to seeing glasses that we never believed we would see. It immediately creates an abnormality. Normal. In fact, it would feel strange for us to make it through 2025 without at least one argument where we question the morality of the sport and ask ourselves why we still don’t. Probably looking at some things that we often question ourselves.
If it sells, it makes sense. And if the front door doesn’t open Just go through the back. or side door Or even a window. In short, it’s a message box sent across the world in 2024. And from these openings, last year we were greeted by a variety of characters. That should be welcomed upon entry. For example, we saw 58-year-old Mike Tyson return to the ring to fight Jake Paul, a man 31 years his junior, on Netflix. Before that, we saw boxer Francis Ngannou. The rookie succumbed to one of the most brutal finishes ever seen in 2024 at the hands of former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Worse than those two fights were others. of countless social media influencers or celebrities who view boxing as a place for attention-seeking and a twisted form of scrutiny. Many of these men and women conspired to simplify complicated science to keep viewers looking for something stupid. Meanwhile, jaw-dropping purists have discovered that the deterioration of the sport is acceptable if enough people are willing to watch it. “Relax,” they say. “It’s just a little bit of fun.”
The same goes for any trend or habit. Now you question how low the sport will sink in the next few years. In the end If a junkie develops a tolerance for inconveniently damaging substances, The only thing that needs to be done is to increase the dosage. consume more Or treat it as a door and encounter an even more dangerous twist. In boxing, that can mean a few things. It could mean the two promoters don the gloves and finally fulfill their wish of becoming the stars of the show. Or to bring it back to Shields and Paul. It may refer to men fighting over women. Which is such an ungodly sport seen as “timely” or is it the perfect way to capture the zeitgeist?
It would definitely catch the attention of the peanut gallery, pictures like that, as well as earn everyone involved an obscene amount of money. It also represents the final bridge the sport must cross before we return to the days of ancient Rome and huntingThose battles were usually held at the Colosseum. It involves exotic animals such as lions, bears, and hippos, either fighting with each other or with humans using weapons called Hunter–
As we enter 2025 without rules There are no barriers to entering the game. And participation is the name of the game. One wonders what combat sports like boxing will survive this year. The battle between the sexes may continue to drag on. (Especially if the candidate is famous.) But the phenomenon doesn’t seem too far off, either. How is that possible when we already know that what is right is second only to what makes money? What if we hear the sound of the bar scraping the floor? And know that it’s hard when it hits the ground. So it can be picked up and it’s just as difficult. that it will go down even lower than this What if we all see Mike Tyson, 58, back in the boxing ring in 2024 and no one thinks to call the authorities?
