Not many would think that Celtic would be brought up in the conversation of Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul.
Over the weekend, as Wilfried Nancy was winning his first game as Celtic manager by beating ten-man Aberdeen at Parkhead.
Over in the States, where Nancy managed in the MLS, there was the small matter of the so-called boxing match between professional heavyweight Anthony Joshua and YouTuber Jake Paul.
The fight was discussed on talkSPORT, and the validity of it all, with Jim White opting to bring Celtic into the conversation.
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Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images for NetflixCeltic compared to Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul’s fight
The heavyweight bout in Miami was only scheduled for eight rounds, but many expected it not to go past the 30-second mark, given the calibre of the two men inside the ring.
In the end, after both fighters, especially Paul, got some very good cardio under their belts, Joshua knocked out his opponent in the sixth round, with what was probably the only meaningful punch he threw during the so-called fight.
Many have mocked what unfolded in Miami, with the fight itself being streamed on Netflix.
talkSPORT host White, with Celtic legend Martin O’Neill in the studio, stated it’s like the Hoops going into a Scottish Cup final, and O’Neill wanting to play a ‘lifelong fan’ as a striker.
But Simon Jordan didn’t like the comparison and branded it ‘silly’, as O’Neill explained that, such a fight, in years to come, will become the norm, and that’s when ‘nobody will be watching.’
Jim White: “Anthony Joshua is the A side of boxing. It’s like Celtic getting into a Scottish Cup final, and you deciding, for whatever reason, Netflix wants you (O’Neill) to play a lifelong fan in your two up front.”
Simon Jordan: “That’s a silly comparison.”
Martin O’Neill: “Simon talked about it being an entertainment business. But I don’t think it’s done me, from a viewpoint, and I don’t know anything about it, I don’t think it’s helped boxing at all.
“If some YouTuber can earn £85 million by going into a ring and running around the ring for five or six rounds – in seven or eight years time, when you are doing it more regularly, there would be nobody watching it.”
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