Jake Paul grossed $75 million on April 17, 2021. After his first round knockout of Ben Askren, a former MMA superstar, a large portion of boxing fans and MMA fans were upset. Many claim Jake Paul has ruined the sport of boxing, but I believe he did the opposite.

Boxing has been a dying sport for a long time. Sometime after Mike Tyson retired, most casual boxing fans left the sport, while some die hard fans stayed—which wasn’t many. But recently, many children who watch Jake and even Logan Paul aspire to become boxers after the recent popularization by the two controversial brothers. I started boxing out of inspiration from Mike Tyson, who I view as my idol. But now I think I have a bright future ahead of me when it comes to boxing, because of all the new competition rolling in.

YouTubers boxing has infused new interest into the sport. “I started boxing after the Nate Robinson and Jake Paul boxing match,” said Jason Quach. “I thought that Mike Tyson coming back to box again at such an old age, accompanied by the YouTuber-turned-boxer, was inspiring and got me hooked to try and reach that level of fame.”

Some fans take a dimmer view of these YouTubers turned boxers. “I think Jake Paul beating a former MMA fighter and calling himself a ‘pro boxer,’ is stupid, and disrespectful to the people who are actual pros in this sport,” said Benny Tauber (12). “I will say, although I disagree with Jake and Logan Paul now, and don’t agree with what they’re doing to boxing as of now, I think in the long run, they have helped bring more eyes to boxing and potentially many more upcoming amateurs who could become actual professional boxers.”

Both opinions, I believe, are well said. Logan Paul boxes former professional boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr.—an accomplished and decorated boxer who retired with a 50-0 professional record—on June 6th, 2021. I recommend checking it out, to see if you may also be interested in boxing.