According to the Gemini AI, the most streamed event in history was the November 15, 2024 professional boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which attracted an estimated global audience of just over 100 million, peaking at 65 million concurrent live viewers. I’ll admit I only vaguely remember anything about that sports event and until I glanced at the Wikipedia page wasn’t even sure which boxer had won.

Would a Billion People Watch the "High-Tech Duel" That Decided the Ukraine War?

RON UNZ

GUSNOTE: WHAT FOLLOWS IS A RIDICULOUS IDEA, WITH NO MERIT ON SOLVING DIPLOMATIC CONCERNS — AS THE END RESULT WOULD BE BASED ON WHO CAN LIE [TELL PORKIES] THE MOST AND HIT BELOW THE BELT... THE RESULT WOULD ALSO DEPEND ON WHO CAN BRIBE THE REFEREES OR THREATEN THEM THE MOST. THE END RESULT OF THE "WRONG" "UNANIMOUS" DECISION COULD SPARK A WORLDWIDE REVOLUTION... AS WELL, THE WHOLE THING WOULD BE PROPAGANDISED BY THE WESTERN MEDIA OUTLETS WITH AN UNEQUAL VIGOUR... IT COULD BE BETTER TO HAVE A NUCLEAR WAR THAN THIS WEIRDO FIST-FIGHT [SARCASM HERE]... HISTORY AND TRUTH ARE BITTER AND BETTER JUDGES OF THE UKRAINE CONFLICT OUTCOME...

RON UNZ CONTINUED:

But if the Russian government were sufficiently shrewd in its understanding of political psychology and media strategy, it could stage a match of its own that would probably attract a vastly larger global audience and have a geopolitical impact far greater than did Paul’s eight-round unanimous decision.

In ancient times, two large armies preparing for battle might occasionally decide to save lives by instead allowing the single combat of their two respective champions to decide the outcome. Or at least such Homeric legends have become part of our literary traditions.

The grinding war between Russia and Ukraine has now lasted well into its fifth year and a few weeks ago it surpassed the length of the First World War. Deaths have certainly run into the many hundreds of thousands, probably totaling over a million, and additional hundreds of thousands have been seriously injured, enormously tragic losses for those two largest and closely related Slavic peoples.

With the European NATO countries backing Ukraine becoming more and more directly involved in the conflict, there has been increasing talk of the possible employment of nuclear weapons. But their use could very easily spiral out of control, leading to the destruction of most of human civilization.

It would obviously be far better for the world if this war could instead be brought to a rapid end by single combat between the champions of the two sides. Oddly enough, there is a real possibility of exactly that situation, and I think that such a contest could possibility draw a global live streaming audience of a billion or more.

Russia could arrange the match, forcing the participation of its NATO opponents, and would almost certainly win. And by doing so before such an enormous worldwide audience, the Russians would gain their greatest global propaganda victory since they beat the West into space by launching the Sputnik satellite into orbit nearly seventy years ago.

Russia’s adversaries in the West totally dominate the world media, and they can normally spin the facts howsoever they choose. But a live audience of a billion would be immune to all such obfuscating clutter, and people in every nation on earth would know what they had seen.  “The propaganda of the deed” would sweep all before it.

Back a couple of years ago Russian President Vladimir Putin had actually challenged the West to exactly that sort of “21st-century high-tech duel.” But Western leaders had ignored him. He should now revive that same proposal, but in mandatory rather than voluntary fashion.

https://www.unz.com/runz/would-a-billion-people-watch-the-high-tech-duel-that-decided-the-ukraine-war/

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