Promoter Frank Warren has said he 'can't stand' social media influencers who box, describing fights involving them as 's***' and a disrespect to the sport.
Speaking on the Great Company podcast, Warren, 74, said the bouts were 'not boxing' matches and that 'these guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes' even with amateurs when he first got into the sport.
Rookies 'wouldn't have lasted five minutes'
Warren said the newcomers deserve 'respect' for getting into the ring but insisted their contests were 'not boxing'. He said: "I can't stand all that s***. It's not boxing. They're not professional boxers."
He added: "Look, if somebody's going to go to a gym and two guys are going to fight each other, I get it. I've been on both sides of the fence. But these guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes when I was doing this stuff, I'm telling you."
'A brave thing to do'
Warren acknowledged the courage of those taking part, saying: "They go and do their best, they go and train, and anybody who gets in the ring you have to respect them for that, it's a brave thing to do. But that's not boxing. That's not boxing."
He criticised the style of the contests, saying: "All of it, the whole thing, I'm watching people running at people and rugby diving."
Worry over influence on fans
Warren said he fears the trend gives a false impression of the sport: "What I worry about is that the influencers, or whatever they call them, wherever they are they have a following and people think this is boxing. If you look at that and then look at the show the week before…it's not chalk and cheese because it doesn't even make the chalk."
He added: "But good luck to them. I don't blame them if they want to make a living, stay alive. If people want to pay for it then God bless them, that's their thing. But for me, don't call it boxing."
In 2025, American YouTuber Jake Paul was hospitalised by Brit former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a fight in Miami.
