TOMMY TOPPLES THE KING OF THE SOCIALS

By Frank Warren

SO, ‘THE TRUTH’, as it was dubbed, is finally out and the hurt is on the side of Jake Paul after he was outpointed by Tommy Fury in Diriyah on Sunday night.

The truth of the matter, really, lies beneath the final outcome of an over two-year online squabble.

What this super-lucrative event proved was the monumental power of social media and digital platforms.

That two rookie boxers could come together and settle their differences with a multi-million dollar bounty on the line is what fellow fighters need to look closely at.

There is no point in groaning and griping about it. Young fighters need to tap into the formula and try and grab a piece of the action.

Novice fighters are always told that talent on its own is not enough, without huge helpings of hard work and application. Well, that hard work needs to include creating an audience and making people want to watch you.

Yes, I hear the argument that promoters are there to promote, but that will only get you so far. The individual must grasp the nettle and make themselves marketable in the first place if they want to chase a pot of gold.

We in the promotional business spend fortunes on digital media and PR activities across the board and are more than happy to do so in order to shine a light on our fighters.

However, there is only so much we can do because most major companies represent knocking on 100 fighters and the focus must be spread fairly, as well as targeted towards particular forthcoming promotions.

Of course, doing the business in a prime TV slot should be the ultimate showcase, but people still need to be attracted to switch on.

This isn’t a new thing. Think back to Frank Bruno. He had the benefit of primetime BBC television, but he still went out of his way to promote himself with his catchphrases and turned himself into a national treasure.

Then think Muhammad Ali. He didn’t exactly just turn up, fight, thank his sponsors and go home quietly, did he?

Jake Paul, and a few others like him, have deftly tapped into a new world dominated by social media and are reaping considerable rewards.

From what I can make out, he hasn’t particularly tried to make himself liked, but he makes himself noticed and makes himself difficult to ignore. He also clearly throws his heart and soul into everything he enters in to.

The fact that probably 90 per cent of professional boxers would love the chance to knock him out shows he is doing something right. He will never be short of work.

This is something young fighters should take onboard. Be true to yourselves, but make some noise and bang your own drum.

This is an era of opportunity. You don’t need to wait for interviews to come around or set piece events such as press conferences. Social media platforms are with us all the time and those who best utilise them are more likely to attract fame and fortune via the business of fighting for a living.

It should never be the case that boxers get forgotten about between fights. There is really no excuse for it. Look at someone like Ryan Garcia. There cannot be many sports fans of any age who haven’t come across a training video posted by him displaying his speed and skills.

He made himself known to the public and now he is getting ready for a superfight that should set him up for life.

Tommy was fortunate to find a Jake and now gone are the days where he will be paid by the round. Good for him and his young family is now financially secure with probably more big paydays in the pipeline.

There is no danger of Jake going to ground now either following a first defeat because the fight world wants to fight him. It is just a case of who gets the Golden Ticket.

One thing is for sure, it won’t be someone who is happy living a quiet life.