How Celebrity Fights Help Spotlight Women’s Boxing

On Dec. 19, Netflix broadcasted YouTuber Jake Paul’s boxing match against former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. 

The fight was an absurd mismatch that ended with Joshua knocking Paul out in the sixth round.

Although the event collected more than $184 million, the card itself demonstrated a different focus from most influencer bouts—-there were little to no gimmick fights, which are non-traditional matchups designed exclusively for entertainment.

Celebrity boxing first took the world by storm in 2018, when YouTubers KSI and Joe Weller faced each other. The event was livestreamed on YouTube and brought a massive audience of 1.6 million viewers.

But it wasn’t until a year later that the newborn genre legitimized itself. The infamous rematch between Logan Paul and KSI drew DAZN, a then-growing sports broadcaster, into the experiment. 

The fight was ultimately sanctioned and had estimated earnings of $150 million.

It was then that Jake Paul made his debut in the ring. From 2020 to 2023, Paul’s storyline for every fight was the same: could a YouTuber defeat an actual fighter? 

But he wasn’t fighting “actual fighters.” He was facing retired or waning legends in both mixed martial arts and boxing. That formula gave audiences massive pay-per-views, including Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz and Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva.

The events proved so lucrative that DAZN implemented Misfits Boxing in 2022. The goal of the promotion was to host PPVs focused on content creators and influencers fighting. 

Misfits made an entire industry of creator-driven cards like the “Prime Card,” which featured Logan Paul, KSI and MMA fighter Dillon Danis in one night. 

But this type of rapid growth is unsustainable because it relies solely on popularity.

Since the Prime Card, Misfits Boxing has struggled to draw seven-figure estimates, even when major names were tied to an event, the most recent example being Andrew Tate vs. Chase Demoor.

Despite the criticism both the program and Jake Paul have received, influencer boxing gave an unexpected spotlight to women’s boxing. Another promotion, titled Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, was formed to host more gimmick fights. 

But gradually, it redirected its platform into a competitive structure, one that especially benefited a division that for years was on the sport’s margins.

For much of boxing’s modern history, the gap between male and female bouts was immense. Women’s boxing lacked major coverage, with many fights often receiving low placements on undercards.

Everything changed after MVP and DAZN hosted Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano in 2022. For one of the first times in modern history, two female boxers headlined Madison Square Garden in a main event. 

Critics acclaimed the fight, with many regarding it as the best fight ever in women’s boxing. Since then, MVP has made an effort to spotlight female athletes.

Subsequent events for the promoter have brought fans super-fights such as Serrano vs. Taylor III and Alycia Baumgardner vs. Leila Beaudoin, with more events set to headline in 2026.

While much of influencer boxing’s long-term effects remain to be seen, its rise may have generated the financial and mainstream leverage needed to elevate overlooked divisions. 

From a YouTube livestream in 2018 to headlining Madison Square Garden, the genre’s most lasting and positive contribution could be giving women’s boxing the stage it always deserved.