Tyson Fury, known for his self-confidence and adaptability, predicted he would one day be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Fury attributed his belief in himself to his adaptability, which he said came from growing up in the Traveller community. Over the last few years, it’s often felt like as soon as one challenge has been faced down, the bell sounds and you’re back in the ring to confront something entirely different, but equally taxing.
For organisations to survive, they’ve had to roll with the punches and like Fury become highly adaptable.
Adaptability as a Key to Success
Dietmar Knoess, global director of people and organisation at sports clothing brand Puma, thought the company was in pretty good shape before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But he soon realised they had to move faster and the inherent danger of standing still. Constant adaptation, that’s actually a thing. If you’re always on your toes and you’re constantly improving at any moment, you never have to face a major transformation. For Puma, we’re constantly adapting, we’re moving fast.
As well as the macro headwinds, YeeLin Chong, head of HR digital solutions at Air Liquide, believes the move to flexible ways of working has also made it more challenging to retain talent. Employees can easily find opportunities beyond borders nowadays. It's so easy to cross borders and find opportunities elsewhere. Every one of us is in a fight for the same talent and the critical skills and competencies that we really need to grow today.
How to Foster Adaptability in an Organization
The shackles have to come off,” says Kerri-Ann O’Neill, people and transformation director at media regulator Ofcom. Similarly, Knoess thinks that flexibility is key and it was something Puma was prioritising long before ‘hybrid working’ became a buzzword.
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Puma had a work-from-home policy in place before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, in March 2020 the leadership team had to decide whether they were going to close the office or not. Unlike their neighbours in the German town of Herzogenaurach - the likes of Siemens, Schaeffler and rivals Adidas - they decided to keep their headquarters open. We said to employees they could, of course, work from home. People could work as much from home as they wished. After just three weeks, Knoess says that people started returning of their own accord.
Why? Because all the restaurants, all the coffee shops were closed. And to be honest, we were probably the most social place around. We tried, within the legal framework, to do everything that was possible. And we tried to navigate as much to the new normal as possible, right? O’Neill admits that she’s no fan of the term ‘hybrid working’. Our data showed us that actually, the bits of the organisation that had total flexibility to come in - the ones who invested in why we need to do face-to-face - they were coming in the most. Ofcom has since applied what it learned from that experiment.
We now have an approach that says we believe in face-to-face working, we believe in connection. But we're not going to set a rule around that, and that's really working for us. When it comes to the future of work, as well as affording employees more flexibility, O’Neill is passionate about moving away from more parental forms of people management. Before the pandemic, we were already massively into our wellbeing strategy. Ofcom scores 18 points above the benchmark. I'm really proud of that stat. We've been saying to managers that to care more for people you also have to be more candid.
Knoess agrees that the shift to a skills based workforce will play an important role in helping Puma attract and retain people, which is something he says will come to the fore for most European companies, not just Puma. When it comes to recruiting, I mean, we know what's happening in Europe over the next 10 years. We will have a massive shortage of talent, which speaks overflow retention, right? As well as offering flexibility and a workplace experience that people love, Knoess thinks skills are key.
We need to understand more about our people, and certainly data helps to make things visible which are not yet visible for us. At Ofcom, O’Neill finds herself competing with some of the world’s largest technology companies for talent. As a result, they’ve had to strip things back to their core purpose. How do we attract those people to come to us to help shape those industries for the modern age? We've talked about, come and work for us and answer the big questions in our society. Questions like, how do we reduce hate speech without limiting free speech? As well as encouraging people through the door, Ofcom has had to rethink the employee experience to ensure it’s as progressive as possible. Like Knoess, O’Neill is also excited about the prospect of moving to a skills-based workforce.
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I think that quite dry language around competencies that we've had as a profession for the last few decades, I’m pleased that we're moving away from that.
Remembering Ricky Hatton: A Fighter's Spirit
The news of Ricky Hatton’s passing came through on the 14th September. Reports stated there was nothing suspicious about his passing, a phrase we know is used in a euphemism for suicide. He was found by his manager after missing a prior engagement. A sporting death hasn’t rocked me like this in a while. This is like losing Gary Speed, Arturo Gatti or Ayrton Senna, seeing someone with years ahead of them cruelly plucked out of existence, which feels like an all too common theme right now.
For someone like me, who grew up in the North of England, Hatton always felt like one of us. Close to my own age, I knew dozens of people who carried themselves with the same warmheartedness and self-deprecating humour. Hatton just happened to be a supremely talented boxer and one who crucially never let the trappings of fame change who he was at his core, a true Manc and proud of it.
The lack of flash was there in his boxing style too. He had grit, a desire to come forward at all costs and lethal bodyshots. The word lethal might only just qualify as hyperbole. When he hit Jose Luis Castillo bang on the liver he broke four of his opponents’ ribs and folded him like a deckchair. Hatton at his best was no frills, power and determination, an embodiment of the British working-class spirit anthropomorphised and given a pair of gloves.
I can still remember the Hatton vs Mayweather fight like it was yesterday. I was a young aspiring sportswriter, plugging away in the media world of what was then known as the blogosphere and it’d be years before I’d get a run as a columnist with the now sadly defunct Sabotage Times. Still, boxing was my thing, a sport I’d wanted to compete at before my inherent lack of discipline and exposure to alcohol and drugs turned me into the type of slob that walks into a boxing gym, not out of one. The build up to this fight cannot be understated. This felt like a bona fide superfight, two undefeated champions that had absolutely earned their reputations. The other great British champion Joe Calzaghe had been criticised for “dodging” the big American names during his career but here was Hatton walking into Vegas to take on a fighter many would consider the best ever pound-for-pound.
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Due to the timezone venues had to apply for late licenses to show the fight and have drinking hours extended. The pub where I watched it was charging people on the door. To do this on a December weekend in Middlesbrough was a bold choice when most were saving up for Christmas. It was packed to the rafters anyway, literally shoulder to shoulder like the front row of a concert. It was boozy too, insanely so for the small hours of a Sunday morning. Every time Ricky came on the screen in the build-up the place would erupt.
We were so jubilant for those first few rounds. Ricky really was doing it until that classic Mayweather counterpunching style cut him. Mayweather came forward and dominated the fight and the final nail in the coffin was that point deduction for punches to the back of the head. My brain remembers the call as total bullshit. People threw their drinks at the screen and screamed that it was rigged. Mayweather compounded our collective misery by bullying Hatton for what was left of the fight. Ricky had the heart of a lion, getting up after being dropped when almost anyone else stayed down. Shortly after he went down again.
He lost that night but there is no shame in losing to the transcendent. To have even stood toe-to-toe, however briefly, with an opponent is something few can ever say they could do. It should have ended there, a Spartan carried back home on his shield with a 43-1 record, but combat sports perhaps more than the others leave a void that can rarely be filled. The training is so all-encompassing that it dictates almost every aspect of your life. When that’s gone, how do you re-learn to be something other than a warrior?
Not many British fighters pierce the cultural bubble and become big in America. Lennox Lewis did it mostly by virtue of who he fought and Tyson Fury did it by being an antidote to the dull era of heavyweight boxing that preceded him. Hatton was almost there, the HBO documentary series about the build up to Mayweather fight being celebrated at the time and appearances on WWE after Pacquiao teased what might have been. Honestly though, and I say this as a loving compliment, he was fundamentally too unassuming to ever have been the type of celebrity they typically embrace.
Back in 2012 I wrote the above article when he was announcing his first comeback. I talked about the importance of fighters knowing when to walk away and cited some of the most irresponsible comeback fights of all, such as Larry Holmes taking on a clearly unwell Ali. By that point in his life he had already admitted substance abuse problems and had been placed into a rehabilitation facility. He finally looked healthy and had got back his trademark smile but the call of the crowd proved too strong, and he would suffer another defeat that was depressing to witness.
The fact he was in line for another comeback makes me feel a lot of things. His prescribed opponent, Eisa Al Da, had a record of 8-3, had only fought once professionally where he was knocked out and was also 46. It was the type of fight that served no purpose. If Hatton won, well of course he should. If Hatton lost it would be unbearably sad to see him brought so low. I don’t know how it got approved. It feels like the type of fight that can only be made in this era we exist in, freak fights, pointless exhibitions, curated mismatches to benefit YouTubers. The beautiful sport of boxing has been reduced to a mechanism for content.
Despite the fight being, in my opinion, a bad idea, Hatton genuinely seemed to love being back in the gym. He posted regular updates of his training regimen and had the glow of his old self. He was battling against the thickening trunk that befalls a man in his fourties but showed he still had some of the old instincts. It truly seems unthinkable that now is when we lose him.
I don’t want to dwell on his demons, especially now it seems they have got the better of him in what I am sure was a constant struggle even before retirement. I will say though that it is worth remembering him not just as a great boxer but as a powerful spokesperson in the fight against diseases of despair. There’s a clear line from what Hatton has said and a younger fighter like Pimblett speaking about mental health. Hatton, in typical fashion, was brutally honest about his struggles.
When appearing on Loose Women, a daytime UK TV show that is essentially The View without the political slander, he took a usually lighthearted interview segment into serious territory. “I contemplated suicide many, many times” he said speaking of dealing with his period post defeat. “I started thinking of different ways to get through it and I thought I could drink myself to death. So consequently, I got more depressed and I ended up taking drugs to enable me to drink more and it was a vicious circle.”
Years later he would repeat a similar story to the BBC saying “I tried to kill myself several times. I used to go to the pub, come back, take the knife out and sit there in the dark crying hysterically.” He promoted suicide prevention charities such as The Samaritans and became an ambassador for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) in 2023. He literally shared the darkest times of his life with the public to save lives.
This type of generosity of spirit is why he was adored much further afield than his native Manchester, although it is worth noting that the greatest testament to that affection took place in the city this weekend during the Manchester derby. It’s probably only Hatton that could unite the blue and red halves of that city in mourning and celebration.
Mayweather said it best after that night in Vegas. “Ricky Hatton is a hell of a fighter.” He truly was, in every sense. Rest in peace Hitman.
The Paul vs. Joshua Fight: A Spectacle Under Scrutiny
Recently, the boxing world has been abuzz with the Paul vs. Joshua fight, a spectacle that has drawn both excitement and criticism. The fight, which saw Anthony Joshua defeat Jake Paul with a sixth-round knockout in Miami, has sparked debate about the state of boxing and the influence of celebrity matchups.
The Fight's Outcome and Aftermath
Paul did better than many expected, surviving into the second half of the fight. But Joshua twice knocked Paul down in a wild fifth round before finishing him with a series of heavy shots in the sixth. After the fight, Joshua called out longtime rival Tyson Fury. Paul, who suffered a double broken jaw during the fight, said he would now take some time away before returning “to go for the cruiserweight world title.”
Netflix's Record-Breaking Night
Jake Paul’s bout with Mike Tyson may have fallen short in the ring but it exceeded Netflix’s hopes by drawing the eyeballs of 60 million households. Netflix called it a “record-breaking night” and said the bout peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, having made the bout available to its hundreds of millions of subscribers without charging extra fees. Moreover, nearly 50 million households also tuned in for the co-main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Serious numbers.
Concerns and Criticisms Surrounding the Fight
This bout has the potential to damage boxing. Jake Paul has fought 13 times since turning professional as a boxer in 2020 but only five of his opponents were boxers and one of those was a 58-year-old Mike Tyson. Anthony Joshua is an Olympic heavyweight champion who has fought against some of the best heavyweights of his generation. Mismatches are not uncommon, but this would be one of the biggest the sport has seen, pitting a relative novice against a seasoned professional.
Given Paul’s previously scheduled fight was against Gervonta Davis, who typically fights at 135 lbs and measures 5ft 5ins, taking on Joshua as a replacement seems ludicrous. Against Joshua, there is nothing to suggest that Paul can survive any real amount of time in the ring with a true, established, current heavyweight. Some of the sport's safety measures will have to be completely ignored to allow Paul to take on Joshua inside the ring, and that leaves boxing in a very precarious position if anything was to go wrong.
What the Fight Means for the Fighters
We saw what money can do in boxing when it pulled together two fighters in Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn, who were previously fighting two or three weight classes apart. Now, it's putting Anthony Joshua with a boxing novice. It gives Joshua a chance to put on the gloves and go through the motions of a big fight after more than a year out of the game. His promoter Eddie Hearn has made no secret of the fact they are pursuing a fight against Tyson Fury in 2026. This is likely a warm-up bout unlikely to test the Brit too much.
For Jake Paul, this fight is his way of answering all the questions and jibes over his boxing CV, which at present features athletes from other sports and retired fighters. Joshua is very much an active heavyweight who, at 36, retains all the power that has helped him knock out 25 of his 32 opponents, including a devastating knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in March 2024.
Safety Concerns
‘Should this be happening?’ has been asked ad infinitum since the fight was announced. This is not an exhibition, like Jake Paul’s fight against Mike Tyson, but a professional fight over three-minute rounds in 10oz gloves.
Paul weighed in for the Tyson fight at a career-biggest 227.2lb (103kg), while Anthony Joshua weighed in for his most recent fight against Dubois at 252.5lb (115kg), with a five-inch difference in height. So the size difference is not all that huge. Certainly not in comparison to the difference in experience, ability and skill. But Joshua is almost two stone heavier than his opponent.
If Paul was not who he is, there is zero chance he would have the opportunity to take on an elite fighter like Joshua at this stage of his nascent boxing career. And that is for good reason; boxing is dangerous. There are (or should be) measures in place to keep it as safe as possible within that realm of danger. In this case, it seems that money, fame and star power count for more than any of those measures.
Views on Anthony Joshua
Steven P: “It’s honestly sad to see Anthony Joshua in this situation. Perhaps he did not hit the heights he was once expected to, but he is still a two-time unified champion. His name is in the history books. This fight is beneath him.”
Elliott H: “Doesn’t he have enough money at this point?! Then again, who would say no to being paid millions of dollars for 60-seconds of work.”
Sam L: “I don’t blame Joshua for taking the fight. He is a two-time champ. That’s his legacy.
Joshua's Recent Career Trajectory
After his defeat against Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua was definitive in that his career was not over. 💬 He said on social media: “We came up short, but we have to look at the positives. Look at what we have achieved in the space of 11 years, it is phenomenal. I want to thank every single one of you has been on a rollercoaster journey with me, but that is far from over!“We have done it twice and doing it a third time has not been easy but it is something I can achieve and it is about working hard and improving, and it can only come from here (points at heart).“It has only been a day but I know I have a lot of this (heart) so I want to thank fans for their support and keep your seatbelts tight because deep down, I know I have a lot more to bring to the game.“We will rise up together.”
It was supposed to be the fight which put Anthony Joshua firmly back on the map, which would see him reclaim the IBF heavyweight championship and set up a potential fight with fellow Brit Tyson Fury. Instead, the underdog Daniel Dubois, eight years his junior, knocked him down in the first, third, fourth and fifth rounds before the fight was stopped. It was a brutal awakening for Joshua in terms of realising he may be done at the very top level and ushering in a new generation of top British and heavyweight boxers.
Anthony Joshua’s star has fallen in the seven years since he stopped Alexander Povetkin in September 2018 to extend his then-flawless professional record to 22-0. He of course lost against massive underdog Andy Ruiz Jr before successive defeats against Oleksandr Usyk. Four wins on the spin against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou built momentum before Joshua was well beaten by compatriot Daniel Dubois at Wembley.
Anthony Joshua has written himself into boxing history. The 36-year-old Londoner won a gold medal at his home Olympic Games in 2012 as an amateur, before entering the pro ranks the following year. He beat the likes of Dillian Whyte and Eric Molina before his first real test at 18-0: the fearsome Wladimir Klitschko. In front of 90,000, Joshua stopped the iconic Ukrainian in the penultimate round. But bigger challenges would come...
Jake Paul's Perspective
Jake Paul has been characteristically shy and retiring ahead of today's fight... not.💬 “I know I will f***ing beat Anthony Joshua’s ass. He doesn’t have a chin and he has no skill and he is stiff.“This isn’t an AI simulation. This is Judgment Day. A professional heavyweight fight against an elite world champion in his prime. “When I beat Anthony Joshua, every doubt disappears, and no one can deny me the opportunity to fight for a world title. To all my haters, this is what you wanted. To the people of the United Kingdom, I am sorry. “Under the lights in Miami, live globally only on Netflix, the torch gets passed and Britain’s Goliath gets put to sleep.”
Jake Paul's Boxing Record
Look, I know as well as you do that Jake Paul’s boxing record contains a lot of victories against opponents of varying quality. His first fight against YouTuber AnEsonGib was awkward and ugly. Ex-basketball player Nate Robinson, MMA fighters Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley (twice) and Anderson Silva did not provide much resistance, either. Paul then lost against the first ‘real’ boxer he faced in Brit Tommy Fury, undefeated though himself with a padded record with no real opponents of serious calibre. Since then, Paul has defeated Nate Diaz by unanimous decision, Mike Tyson in November 2024 and then Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June. Sure, the usual caveats apply: ‘Iron Mike’ was clearly past it at almost 60; Chavez Jr is not his legendary father. But those are still some big names for Paul to have got past.
Paul's Rise and Its Impact on Boxing
Thousands will scream they don’t care about Jake Paul. However, millions more will pay for the privilege to watch his next fight. Love it or loathe it, Paul, who first entered the public eye by posting videos on social media of sophomoric pranks, has become the biggest draw in American boxing, and that’s been great for him.
Paul has become the rare promoter who straps on gloves and turns himself into the product. But in a crowded media space, the modern-day promoter needs a breakthrough. Enter boxing, a sport in desperate need of an American disruptor. Whether that’s inspiring, infuriating, repulsive or innovative, Paul’s persisting existence in boxing is certainly not neutral. Yes, Paul has another boxing match scheduled for next month. Don’t tune in for world-class footwork or heady feints. However, don’t think ignoring it will make it go away.