When Logan Paul and Jake Paul took to social media on Tuesday morning to tease a fight against each other, something was amiss.
While the graphic—which featured the two brothers in a boxing-style poster with a date and platform (Max) listed—seemingly indicated they would square off in a boxing match, neither HBO nor Jake’s MVP Promotions sent an accompanying press release. Reached by Awful Announcing, HBO declined to confirm a fight was taking place and said that more information would be available later in the week.
Now we know why.
Taking to X on Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Mike Coppinger reported that the tease in question wasn’t for a fight featuring Logan and Jake, but rather a reality series. Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix confirmed Coppinger’s reporting, touting the tease as “smart marketing.”
While one could certainly take issue with the Paul brothers misleading their audience — and it will be interesting to see if they face any backlash for doing so — the reality is that there were no shortage of red flags with the initial tease. In addition to the lack of a press release or anything resembling a formal announcement, a simple scroll of the calendar would have told you that March 27, 2025, is a Thursday — hardly a traditional timeslot for what would assuredly be one of the biggest boxing fights of the year (whatever that says about the state of boxing and/or America is a story for a different day).
Rather, the unnamed Paul brothers reality series appears to debut on the same day that Max is set to stream games from the regional round of the NCAA Tournament—which likely isn’t a coincidence. Additional details regarding the series are expected to be available later this week.
All things considered, the Paul brothers knew exactly what they were doing with this tease, and social media — and some of the general media — took the bait. And while it doesn’t appear that Logan and Jake have plans to fight each other anytime soon, it’s worth wondering whether the reaction to their tease will cause them to reconsider those plans down the line.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.