Tonight’s heavyweight clash between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua at the Kaseya Center in Miami isn’t just a boxing match/sporting event. Paul vs Joshua is a masterclass in how social media has effectively replaced the traditional promoter role in the modern media landscape.
While Anthony Joshua brings the prestige of an Olympic gold medal and two unified world titles, the fight’s existence is almost entirely a product of the attention economy fueled by digital platforms. For all intents and purposes, despite being a two-time heavyweight champion and one of the sport’s biggest attractions, Joshua is the B-side.
Narrative Control vs. Gatekeepers
Several matchups for Joshua would be bigger from a boxing sense. This, however, will most likely be the most-watched boxing match of the year, if not the biggest audience in sports.
In the traditional boxing landscape, a fight of this magnitude would require years of sanctioning body rankings and network negotiations. Instead, this bout was manufactured through direct-to-market social media campaigning.
Jake Paul used his 70M+ combined followers to frame a ‘David vs. Goliath’ story, bypassing traditional media gatekeepers. On some level, Paul erased the shame surrounding his planned exhibition with Tank Davis. Between the hype of the exhibition and the excitement of Joshua stepping in, by the time the deal reached Netflix, the demand had already been proven on YouTube and X/Twitter.
The Netflix x Social Synergy
For a media executive, the technical pivot here is significant. Netflix is leveraging social media as its primary marketing funnel rather than traditional TV spots or even print ads. By offering the fight at no extra cost to its 300M+ global subscribers, Netflix is banking on viral friction, the inevitable online debates, meme-sharing, and real-time reactions to drive platform engagement.
Social media acts as the pre-game show, creating the buzz effect that traditional media simply cannot replicate. Most Valuable Promotions aired an HBO-style 24/7 YouTube show called “UNCUT” that garnered 750,000 views.
Monetizing the Hate-Watch
Social media has allowed Paul to perfect the art of the “heel arc.” Much like Floyd Mayweather, he is adept at playing the spoiled billionaire heel role, with one keen exception. He is a club-level fighter at best and now steps in with arguably the sport’s biggest attraction.
Digital platforms thrive on polarization. By leaning into his role as a disruptor, Paul ensures that both his loyal fans and his most vocal detractors tune in. This digital sentiment analysis allows promoters like Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) to guarantee viewership numbers to partners and advertisers before a single ticket is sold. The gate, while important, is almost irrelevant.
The Miami Weigh-In Fallout
The final 24 hours have shifted the digital conversation from marketing to magnitude. At the official weigh-in at the Fillmore Miami Beach, the social media sentiment underwent a massive shift as the physical reality of the matchup is starting to become clear.
The “Hulk Hogan” Pivot: Jake Paul, ever the student of viral theatrics, stepped onto the scale at 216.6 pounds and immediately channeled WWE icon Hulk Hogan, delivering a high-energy, pro-wrestling style rant. Social listening tools showed an immediate spike in engagement (up 40% hour-over-hour) as clips of the “I am him!” warning flooded TikTok and X.
The “Polymarket” Effect: Anthony Joshua, typically a traditionalist, has leaned into the “Web3” side of this event. He recently shared data from Polymarket on his social channels, showing a 73% knockout probability. This direct use of prediction-market data by a world-class athlete is a significant “media adoption” moment. It turns gambling data into a primary promotional narrative.
The “Mismatch” Sentiment: Despite the hype, Reddit sentiment (specifically r/boxing) leans toward dangerous curiosity. The fact that Joshua weighed in at 243.4 pounds, his lightest since 2021, suggests he is taking the technical threat of Paul’s speed seriously.
However, the visual of the 6’6″ Joshua towering over Paul has triggered a wave of mismatch memes, with many fans questioning the ethics of the sanctioned bout while simultaneously admitting they will be watching. “That’s a bad idea,” said the mercurial Dana White, while also being quick to point out that he was going to watch.
The Prediction Split: The 11/1 odds on a first-round knockout are trending (fueled by a viral post from Conor McGregor). However, a surprising contrarian narrative is gaining steam. Voices like David Haye are hinting at a chaotic or scripted outcome, a sentiment that currently accounts for nearly 15% of the pre-fight social discourse.
The Bottom Line for Paul vs Joshua
Tonight proves that in 2025, the purse follows the posts. The technical infrastructure of streaming, combined with the reach of social media, has created a new, agile era of sports media where relevance is the most valuable currency.
Attention is the new infrastructure. Netflix isn’t just hosting a stream. It is the destination for a global live event that was built, tested, and sold via social sentiment analysis long before the first bell.
A lifelong resident of Long Island, New York, Matthew Pomara, MMP, has always followed the sweet science. He caught the tail end of the Ali era, was a staunch follower of the Four Kings of the 80’s, loved the great expansion of the sport in the 90’s and has stayed with boxing through the 2000s. He has been published in The Ring Magazine and loves contributing to @NYFights. He can be found on Twitter @pomara_matt