Have the Paul brothers changed boxing forever?

They may not be your cup of tea but American social media superstars the Paul brothers, Logan and Jake, have firmly rocked boxing to its core.

YouTube boxing has exploded in the last few years bringing new eyes onto the sport and helping drive interest as well as pay-per-view sales.

You may believe they are ruining boxing or revolutionising a tired old sport depending on your perspective and most likely age, but there is no doubting the Pauls have changed the game for good.

There has been a rapid acceleration from loud-mouth well-followed young influencers calling each other out online to Logan Paul stepping into a ring with Floyd Mayweather, arguably the greatest pound for pound fighter of all time.

British fans will tell you that this all started when Joe Weller and Theo Baker pulled on the gloves before YouTube behemoth KSI challenged Weller to a proper fight and defeated him.

He then staged two fights with the elder Paul, winning the second after drawing the first with the media attention and viewing figures flying through the roof.

Jake Paul has challenged and defeated former NBA star Nate Robinson and now has the scalps of two ex-MMA stars in Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley on his fighting CV.

The Pauls, from Ohio, have a combined following of well over 50million people and are not hanging around when it comes to leveraging it.

Logan previously told Sky Sports: “Hard work beats talent.

"The way Jake and I were raised was 'head down, stay humble'. Fortunately, we were able to accomplish a lot.

"I'm a product of my generation. Social media happened to come around, I loved making videos. At any other period of time the barrier of entry to Hollywood would have been impossible.

"The losers in all this are likely to be your hardworking and industrious professional boxers attempting to climb the greasy pole and become the next Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua."

Perhaps they will be superseded by a wave of popular internet figures, with the resources and time to upskill and train to a degree where they are taken at least semi-seriously in the boxing world.

However, it can be argued that the spotlight and riches coming into the sport from the activities of the Paul brothers can only have a generally positive trickle-down effect for those attempting a more traditional route to the top.

Whatever your thoughts, one thing remains clear, boxing is unlikely to ever be the same again.

Image Credit: Getty Images