\n<\/p>\n
Such was the oddity of Anthony Joshua v Jake Paul even taking place, the fight landed on Netflix under a cloud of suspicion that boxing had surrendered itself to choreography.<\/b><\/p>\n
To be clear, this was a sanctioned professional contest, not a scripted event – and the storyline it produced was mundane and predictably one-sided.<\/p>\n
No scriptwriter would have come up with something like this.<\/p>\n
The plot played out in the ring was lifeless – a slow, joyless watch that would have struggled to earn even a charitable rating on Rotten Tomatoes.<\/p>\n
And the ultimate irony is that this spectacle has provided one of Joshua’s biggest paydays and, in all likelihood, his largest television audience.<\/p>\n
With seconds remaining in the fourth round, referee Christopher Young perhaps spoke for viewers around the world when he pulled the fighters together and urged them to engage.<\/p>\n
Directing his comments at Paul, he said: “Fans didn’t pay to see this crap.”<\/p>\n
“Amen,” replied Netflix commentator Mauro Ranallo. “Christopher Young with the call of the night.”<\/p>\n
All week Joshua spoke about “carrying boxing on his back”. On Friday night in Miami, he dumped the load, but only after an awkward and laboured process.<\/p>\n
Paul was there to survive.<\/p>\n
The man who spent fight week promising the greatest upset in sporting history instead avoided engagement.<\/p>\n
When he did make contact, it was with echoes of his schoolboy past as a wrestler, constantly going low and grabbing Joshua’s leg.<\/p>\n
There was an embarrassing lack of punches by Paul and a litany of wild swings from Joshua that even a novice like his opponent was able to easily evade.<\/p>\n
“It’s a win but it’s not a success,” Joshua said afterwards. “I’ve got a lot of improving I’ve got to do. I’m not happy.”<\/p>\n
Joshua earned his share of a reported \u00a3210m purse, but from a boxing perspective – and for those in the UK who stayed up into the early hours to watch – the contest was meaningless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n