Paul, 23, has found success in a pair of high-profile boxing bouts so far, and he arguably stole the show at Saturday’s Tyson vs. Jones. Jr. event with a hellacious knockout of NBA veteran Nate Robinson. In what was the second-most talked-about matchup of the evening, Paul needed less than two rounds to land a haymaker that left Robinson face-down on the canvas.
With a massive fan base already in tow (Paul currently has over 20 million subscribers to his YouTube channel in addition to the following he has on other social media networks), Paul expects his rise to combat sports stardom to eventually rival that of all-time great boxer Floyd Mayweather.
“My career goal was to do exactly what I did,” Paul said at the Tyson vs. Jones Jr. post-fight presser. “To have an undeniable victory and steal the show. And prove to the boxing world, who has doubted me for the past six months, that I’m a pro boxer and I’m here to stay.
“When you put those 10-ounce gloves on me, I’m vicious, I can hit. I’m a real dog. When these MMA fighters come into the ring, they’re gonna meet ‘The Problem Child.’ They’re gonna meet me. And I’m here to make millions of dollars and sell millions of pay-per-view and I’m gonna be one of the biggest stars. I think I might just be the new Floyd.”
Paul has his sights set on two MMA fighters in particular. One is UFC megastar Conor McGregor, and the other is longtime McGregor associate Dillon Danis. Danis has publicly feuded with both Jake and his older brother Logan Paul (also a YouTube star) and directed a pair of tweets at Jake following Saturday’s fight.
you just fought a retired nba reject be careful what you wish for little guy @jakepaul
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) November 29, 2020
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) November 29, 2020
dance for me bitch @jakepaul pic.twitter.com/VmVvtQ0Krb
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) November 29, 2020
In the lead-up to Tyson vs. Jones Jr., Jake Paul said he wanted to fight both McGregor and Danis, and he reiterated that sentiment on Saturday evening. He sees himself as being a few fights away from crossing paths with McGregor, though he’s certain the fight will happen, and for now he’s focused on proving that he’s serious about becoming a legitimate pro boxer.— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) November 29, 2020
“I’m putting the work in, and I understand why people don’t want to accept me yet,” Paul said. “But I’ve had two flawless victories, and I’m really dedicated my life to this. I have an $8 million mansion in Calabasas that I haven’t stayed at for six months. I haven’t even been home because I’ve been in Las Vegas training in a little tiny house, two-a-days, pouring my heart and soul into this.
“So if people don’t respect that, then I don’t know what they’re gonna respect. It’s an uphill battle for Jake Paul, it always has been. I’ve fought for everything in my whole entire life. People hate me, people talk sh*t about me, but I’m still here.”
Paul improved to 2-0 as a pro boxer with his win over Robinson. He debuted at an event headlined by his brother Logan in January, with Logan facing YouTube personality “KSI” and Paul defeating KSI’s brother “AnEsonGib” by first-round TKO in a co-main event bout.
He’s eager to fight again and if the right opportunity doesn’t come along, he’s open to the idea of creating that opportunity himself.
“I feel like I didn’t get to showcase my skills, honestly, so I’m a little upset with that,” Paul said. “I would fight. My right hand always kind of hurts after these fights, last time I had to do recovery on my right hand because I was just penetrating his skull, but same sort of thing with this. I’ll fight again ASAP.
“I think I just cemented myself as one of the biggest prizefighters, so someone’s gonna have to come with the bag or I might do my own promotion. So we’ll see.”
{feed:enclosure_href }
More...
