By Tom Donelson / Member Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA)

I have a martial arts background and obtain a black belt plus orange belt in Judo (which was a requirement for a black belt as my sensi insisted his martial artist have a judo background as he noted that many fights end up on the ground.)  We had occasional kick boxing bouts in the do jo and my sensi himself fought kick boxing matches on ESPN when ESPN covered kickboxing matches in the 1980’s and early 90’s.

One weekend, I fought one of my best matches as I defeated a fellow black belt in a kick boxing matches in our dojo. My opponent was in my mid 40’s and I just turned 40. After the bout, the sensi invited me to fight some rounds with him so we went three rounds. He held back and simply wanted to get rounds in and I knew that if he wanted to send them to the canvas, he could. He connected any time he wanted and while I lasted three rounds, he allowed me to do so. I may have been wearing a black belt, but I was not a professional kickboxer and he had been one. There was a difference in skill levels between us and there was a difference between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua.

Joshua connected 48 punches over the six rounds but 31 of them were in the fifth and sixth round. He only landed 17 over the first four rounds and it was if Joshua didn’t want to end the fight early and carried Paul for the first four rounds before letting loose in the fifth and sixth round, in which he landed the perfect one two, left jab followed by a right hand that send Paul down and broke Paul jaws.

Paul is a decent fighter who takes his craft seriously, but his victories were over fighters beyond the prime like Mike Tyson who was nearly 60 years old. Paul could beat most fighters ranked lower but against elites fighters, he is not in their class. Joshua is a former champion who was not that far beyond his prime. Paul began as youtuber and had a built-in audience when he began his boxing career and his fights brought in millions. Many fans simply watched his fight simply for his entertainment value and while many boxing purist never felt comfortable with Paul, it can’t be denied He attracted fans.

If nothing else, he is one of the few Americans fighters who can attract eyeballs and make a bundle in which he may continue to fight. (Joe Rogan suggested that maybe it is time for Paul to call it quit before he suffers any more damage.)

The reality is that many boxing strengths is coming from Europe and big fights are going to the Middle East. Boxing in America has been overtaken by MMA in the combat sphere here in the states and one reason is that Dane White as a promoter has managed to make UFC the premier MMA fights. There is one standard in MMA and that is UFC. In boxing, we have multiples divisions and often there are multiple champions that leaves fans confused about who is the best.

And many fights are often overseas and not in the United States. Most sports fans could not identify most boxing champions out of line up. Boxing has long lost its place in sports world. There was a time when a boxing champion would be as well known as any sports figure, which is no longer the case. Jake Paul has filled that role in attracting fans to boxing but this fight was a mismatch and most of us knew it.

Paul was not in Joshua’s class, and this is not insult to Paul who put up a good effort but his talent as a fighter is not elite.