Retired NBA All-Star Paul Pierce made several controversial statements about Jake Paul’s announced fight against Mike Tyson on July 20 and the state of sports today.
As a longtime boxing fan, Pierce felt it necessary to weigh in on Paul’s emergence in the boxing sphere.
The Hall-of-Famer admitted that while Paul is must-see TV, he’s an emblem of a generation set on entertainment value in sports. That bold assertion only scratches the surface of his striking string of takes.
Paul Pierce boldly devalues legitimacy of sports outcomes
Pierce took to “The Truth Lounge” on Friday to speak with former college basketball star Jason Crowe on the upcoming megafight.
The NBA star turned media personality claimed that sports have become increasingly less about virulent competition and more about viral moments.
The bus did not stop there. He stated that sports today are fixed:
“Jake Paul is just changing the game of boxing and it’s crazy because now it’s about, who’s watching? Who’s getting the views? Who are people interested in?” Pierce said before going into the realness of outcomes in this day and age. “Sports used to be unscripted. So now I’m like, it’s starting to look like everything is scripted now.”
Crow took things further and said without a doubt that the Paul-Tyson fight will muster up a pre-packaged outcome:
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“This event right here is definitely gonna be scripted. They gon talk about what they gon do, and they gon be trained to deliver, just like wrestling,” Crow said surely.
Paul fights have had questionable outcomes in the past. Particularly, his knockout punch against Tyron Woodley got side eyes.
Though, the YouTube sensation has made a name for himself in the sport, innovating new ways for fighters to gain more autonomy over their contracts and promotion as Pierce alluded to.
Celebrity matches are now commonplace in boxing and several other sports, contrary to Pierce’s day.
In spite of all that, Tyson will not follow that mold. Judging off of his exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, the realness of Tyson’s ferocity will entertain more than anything else on fight night.
While Pierce’s comments may come across as a comedy of errors and a diss against today’s athletic landscape, he’s eager watch the fight this summer.
