By Ricardo Lezama 03/mar/2023
La Cartita
The official poster for Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury. The copyright is believed to belong to Most Valuable Promotions and ESPN.
Sunday’s fight between Tommy Fury and Jake Paul in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, has become a window into the growing Saudi influence on professional sports, as well as a possible referendum on the YouTube boxing phenomenon.
The fight is being interpreted as a poll on YouTube boxing, and Top Rank and ESPN will carefully observe to determine if YouTube boxers and world champions can harmoniously exist.
There is also a debate about how much of Saudi Arabia’s sports spending is genuine or just a ploy to cover up human rights abuses or sportswashing. On top of all this, the fight has ties to the U.S. government’s wanted man Daniel Kinahan, and his links to Tyson Fury, Tommy’s older half-brother.
Both men are confident of victory and are hoping to prove their worth in the boxing world.