While it could be argued that the notion of banter has accelerated the dumbing down of an already silly sport, there is every chance that it could, in quite the plot twist, also be the thing that returns it to sanity. 

After all, silly though it is, boxing tends to be a dangerous sport, too, and therefore banter is something that should be used sparingly, and carefully, and should never be left in the wrong hands. If it is, it can prove to be deadly and an overdose can often only be fixed with an antidote. In this case, it is fixed either by a dose of reality or by what is commonly known as the old double bluff. 

Without one or the other, fighters are free to hide behind banter as much as they want. Jake Paul, for instance, can stash call-outs of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Anthony Joshua in the bottom drawer labelled “banter” and avoid any backlash for speaking out of turn. “Only joking,” he might say if ever pressed on it – or, scarier still, forced to back up his words. “Not really.” He can then continue to call out the world’s best boxers while fighting basketball players, mixed martial artists, fellow influencers, and drug-addled geriatrics, all the while telling the boxing industry how it needs to improve.  

“I want to fight Anthony Joshua because I know that I will fucking beat Anthony Joshua’s ass,” said Paul on a podcast last week. “He doesn’t have a chin, and he has no skill, and he’s stiff. I love you, Anthony, and we’re friends, but I want to fight you.”

He is, of course, just saying stuff, Paul. It’s what you do on a podcast and it’s what many do nowadays to grab attention and fame. Deep down, though, for all his bluster, Paul does not truly believe he belongs in a ring with Anthony Joshua and anybody who watched what Joshua did to Francis Ngannou, another interloper, will know why. In addition, while plenty tried to spin the narrative that Jake Paul had “carried” a 58-year-old Mike Tyson for eight rounds in November, the truth, something clear to anyone who knows boxing, was that Paul was (a) unable to find or create an opening to finish the fight and (b) not prepared to take the requisite risk. If in doubt, watch again the first minute of the fight – the only time Tyson moved – and focus on the look on Paul’s face and the skittish way in which he eluded danger. Even in that short period of time, the novice felt something; enough to not take liberties, enough to settle for just winning, enough to “carry” his 58-year-old opponent to the final bell. 

In light of that performance, one can only imagine the fear Jake Paul would feel when in the ring with someone like Joshua, a two-time world heavyweight champion. Not even for money, or banter, would such long-lasting trauma be worth it – at least from Paul’s point of view.

“For me, we’d do it for the banter,” said Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, last week. “AJ would fight Jake Paul. But if Jake Paul wants to step up and fight Anthony Joshua, he’ll need the relevant insurance. 

“The only thing that was disappointing was that he [Paul] said 2026. That’s like me saying, ‘Yeah, LA Olympics for the surfing, 2028… I’ll be there’. Do it in 2025 if you really want to do it. You’re not going to get much better at this stage. 

“But those two have spoken. I spoke to AJ this morning and he said, ‘Listen, of course I’d fight him’. We know Jake creates massive events and you know that is going to create unbelievable viewership. And, no disrespect to Jake Paul, it’s a straightforward night’s work.”

In terms of strategies, nobody in boxing has exploited banter as well as Eddie Hearn during his time as the face of Matchroom Boxing. Not only is he the best talker of all the promoters, and the best since Don King, Hearn has also managed to ingratiate himself with the general public thanks to his cheek and his charm and by never, on the face of it, taking himself too seriously. This approach, combined with a willingness to stay visible and do every single interview, has in turn created a culture of banter within British boxing and allowed banter to pass for various things, including media interviews, press conferences, and, apparently, mismatches. 

In some respects, it has been used as a shield; protection. It has replaced tough questions, it has replaced serious subjects, and it has replaced the need to do the right thing. Behind banter, you see, any promoter or mega-rich financier can now essentially hide, ready to say “only joking” or “not really” should it all go wrong or should their actions ever be questioned. Behind banter stupid fights can now be made, dumb behaviour can be excused, and a sport once known for its danger and its high barrier to entry feels content to open its legs to anyone and everyone, especially if they come with banter and a massive… following. 

But what, in the end, is banter in the context of boxing? Is it a fight like Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul, which would no doubt damage Jake Paul but also shut up Jake Paul and do a lot of good for boxing in the process? Is it Eddie Hearn harmlessly singing a song to end an interview? Or is it Chris Eubank Jnr bringing an egg to a press conference and smashing it across the face of Conor Benn to remind him of his past? 

Whichever of those you consider to be banter, the impact of an overdose should never be underestimated. Indeed, it was only last week that I watched British light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker bring an egg of his own to a face-off with Liam Cameron and proceed to reveal this egg to his opponent when prompted to shake hands. The image of the egg, of course, pertained to a different fight entirely, yet somehow its total lack of relevance to Whittaker vs Cameron did not dawn on Whittaker either when he packed it or before its reveal. As such, the bewildered look on Liam Cameron’s face was one mimicked by boxing fans the world over. “Why an egg?” we all wondered. “What happens next? When do you suppose we laugh?” 

Had Cameron, in the search for answers, asked what on earth his opponent was doing, one can only assume that Whittaker, having returned the egg to his pocket, would at that point have leaned back in his chair and said, “Banter, that’s all”.