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But rarely do they make a massive seismic impact on the sport as a whole, either.
Few fight fans go misty eyed over Muhammed Ali's bout with Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976.
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START WATCHING HERE NOW (ONLY $7.99) WORLDWIDE ANYWHERE
START WATCHING HERE NOW (ONLY $7.99) WORLDWIDE ANYWHERE
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.
Even fewer will have fond memories of the farcical match-up between Trevor Berbick and Nobuhiko Takada in 1991.
Then there were the five fights George Foreman had against five different men on the same night in 1975, the somehow-even-more-absurd ring meeting between Oscar De La Hoya and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neill in 2009 or Floyd Mayweather's money-grabbing assault on sporting decency when he battered peroxide super lightweight kick boxer Tenshin Nasukawa — who was not allowed to kick — in 2018.
Antonio Inoki kicks at Muhammed Ali
Incredibly, this was an actual thing. It ended in a draw. (Getty Images: Sports Illustrated/Takeo Tanuma)
Add them all to the sadly long list of money-making scams fight fans have foolishly stumbled towards like moths to an open flame, dollar bills crumpled in their closed fists like stupefied addicts desperate for a novelty rush and oblivious to the danger of being burned.
Jake Paul (USA)
Record: 12-1 (7KOs)
Age: 28
Height: 185cm
Reach: 193cm
Weight: 98kg
Anthony Joshua (GBR)
Record: 28-4 (25KOs)
Age: 36
Height: 198cm
Reach: 208cm
Weight: 110kg
But here comes another one — an altogether more dangerous one, and one that despite the absurdity may have a cultural resonance beyond making millions for the two combatants.
On Saturday (AEDT) Anthony Joshua will walk into the ring against Jake Paul.
They will fight eight, three minute rounds, wearing 10oz gloves.
Few expect it to last that long.
Joshua has courted controversy for taking the fight.
He's courted more for repeating vulgar statements about how he will "kill" his opponent in the ring.
Anthony Joshua speaks at a press conference
Anthony Joshua has debased himself by talking about killing Jake Paul. (Getty Images: Megan Briggs)
"I'm a very respectful guy brought up by a good family. But if I can kill you, I will kill you. That's just how I am. And this is just the job I do, so let's go," was just one of the nonsense statements Joshua sprouted at an open workout in Miami this week.
It's the sort of pathetic grandstanding that deserves being called out, not least from his will-he-wont-he opponent Tyson Fury, who rubbished Joshua's bewildering bravado during the school run, of all things.
"He's a little bit long in the tooth to be talking s*** like that," Fury said in his own indomitable way on Instagram.
"He's 37 years old, at the end of his career fighting a YouTuber, a Disney Channel guy who [Fury's half-brother] Tommy beat.
"And now he's talking about killing him and all that to try and sell — please. Barking up the wrong tree, idiot."
Fury is right.
Anthony Joshua shadow boxes
Anthony Joshua is a dangerous man in a boxing ring, despite having had four defeats on his record. (Getty Images: PA Images/JC Ruiz)
Joshua uttering such irresponsible rubbish to promote a fight where he is such a clear favourite should be beneath him.
But he has doubled down.
Boxing is no game, despite Jake Paul's increasingly dangerous charade
Jake Paul puts his fingers to his lips
Jake Paul's upcoming contest against a bona fide, former two-time unified heavyweight champion of the world smacks of a game about to go seriously wrong.
"It's my job, we fight. We have a licence to kill," he said at the press conference.
"I'm sure many people don't understand it but this is what my job is. I just enjoy what I do.
"Whatever happens, happens — as long as my hand is raised, that's what's important, respectfully. That's just what the mentality we have to have as fighters.
"When you're in the ring, it's a dangerous thing. Anything can happen.
"You hope your opponent leaves the ring safely, but if they don't, you still have to go to bed knowing you just did your job. It wasn't personal."
Joshua has said that he is carrying the entire sport on his back and working to "save boxing" by stopping the YouTuber fighter phenomenon at its source.
But others say that a brutal win will end it anyway.
Jake Paul holds up his hands
Many observers feel Jake Paul is at risk of martyring himself if he steps into the ring. (Getty Images: Megan Briggs)
"I think this could be the end of YouTubers jumping in with real active fighters," former light-welterweight world champion Amir Khan told the Daily Mail.
"Because it only takes one shot. One bad night, one clean shot, and someone can get seriously hurt.
"We've seen the way someone's whole life can be altered."
Boxing is dangerous.
Paul may say that he wants Joshua's "hardest punches" and for there to be "no excuses". But to paraphrase one of Paul's previous opponents, a washed-up Mike Tyson, everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face.
And one punch from a man who has been in with some of the best fighters of this generation will likely be enough.gfyutyi
Few fight fans go misty eyed over Muhammed Ali's bout with Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976.
.
.
START WATCHING HERE NOW (ONLY $7.99) WORLDWIDE ANYWHERE
START WATCHING HERE NOW (ONLY $7.99) WORLDWIDE ANYWHERE
.
.
Even fewer will have fond memories of the farcical match-up between Trevor Berbick and Nobuhiko Takada in 1991.
Then there were the five fights George Foreman had against five different men on the same night in 1975, the somehow-even-more-absurd ring meeting between Oscar De La Hoya and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neill in 2009 or Floyd Mayweather's money-grabbing assault on sporting decency when he battered peroxide super lightweight kick boxer Tenshin Nasukawa — who was not allowed to kick — in 2018.
Antonio Inoki kicks at Muhammed Ali
Incredibly, this was an actual thing. It ended in a draw. (Getty Images: Sports Illustrated/Takeo Tanuma)
Add them all to the sadly long list of money-making scams fight fans have foolishly stumbled towards like moths to an open flame, dollar bills crumpled in their closed fists like stupefied addicts desperate for a novelty rush and oblivious to the danger of being burned.
Jake Paul (USA)
Record: 12-1 (7KOs)
Age: 28
Height: 185cm
Reach: 193cm
Weight: 98kg
Anthony Joshua (GBR)
Record: 28-4 (25KOs)
Age: 36
Height: 198cm
Reach: 208cm
Weight: 110kg
But here comes another one — an altogether more dangerous one, and one that despite the absurdity may have a cultural resonance beyond making millions for the two combatants.
On Saturday (AEDT) Anthony Joshua will walk into the ring against Jake Paul.
They will fight eight, three minute rounds, wearing 10oz gloves.
Few expect it to last that long.
Joshua has courted controversy for taking the fight.
He's courted more for repeating vulgar statements about how he will "kill" his opponent in the ring.
Anthony Joshua speaks at a press conference
Anthony Joshua has debased himself by talking about killing Jake Paul. (Getty Images: Megan Briggs)
"I'm a very respectful guy brought up by a good family. But if I can kill you, I will kill you. That's just how I am. And this is just the job I do, so let's go," was just one of the nonsense statements Joshua sprouted at an open workout in Miami this week.
It's the sort of pathetic grandstanding that deserves being called out, not least from his will-he-wont-he opponent Tyson Fury, who rubbished Joshua's bewildering bravado during the school run, of all things.
"He's a little bit long in the tooth to be talking s*** like that," Fury said in his own indomitable way on Instagram.
"He's 37 years old, at the end of his career fighting a YouTuber, a Disney Channel guy who [Fury's half-brother] Tommy beat.
"And now he's talking about killing him and all that to try and sell — please. Barking up the wrong tree, idiot."
Fury is right.
Anthony Joshua shadow boxes
Anthony Joshua is a dangerous man in a boxing ring, despite having had four defeats on his record. (Getty Images: PA Images/JC Ruiz)
Joshua uttering such irresponsible rubbish to promote a fight where he is such a clear favourite should be beneath him.
But he has doubled down.
Boxing is no game, despite Jake Paul's increasingly dangerous charade
Jake Paul puts his fingers to his lips
Jake Paul's upcoming contest against a bona fide, former two-time unified heavyweight champion of the world smacks of a game about to go seriously wrong.
"It's my job, we fight. We have a licence to kill," he said at the press conference.
"I'm sure many people don't understand it but this is what my job is. I just enjoy what I do.
"Whatever happens, happens — as long as my hand is raised, that's what's important, respectfully. That's just what the mentality we have to have as fighters.
"When you're in the ring, it's a dangerous thing. Anything can happen.
"You hope your opponent leaves the ring safely, but if they don't, you still have to go to bed knowing you just did your job. It wasn't personal."
Joshua has said that he is carrying the entire sport on his back and working to "save boxing" by stopping the YouTuber fighter phenomenon at its source.
But others say that a brutal win will end it anyway.
Jake Paul holds up his hands
Many observers feel Jake Paul is at risk of martyring himself if he steps into the ring. (Getty Images: Megan Briggs)
"I think this could be the end of YouTubers jumping in with real active fighters," former light-welterweight world champion Amir Khan told the Daily Mail.
"Because it only takes one shot. One bad night, one clean shot, and someone can get seriously hurt.
"We've seen the way someone's whole life can be altered."
Boxing is dangerous.
Paul may say that he wants Joshua's "hardest punches" and for there to be "no excuses". But to paraphrase one of Paul's previous opponents, a washed-up Mike Tyson, everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face.
And one punch from a man who has been in with some of the best fighters of this generation will likely be enough.gfyutyi