Whether you are an admirer or a detractor, it’s hard to ignore that Jake Paul is the most famous 3-0 fighter on the planet.
The YouTube personality turned pro boxer will engage in his fourth bout in a Showtime PPV event this Sunday (August 29) when he battles former UFC champion Tyron Woodley at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. An in-shape Woodley, now 39, has prepared with boxing icon Floyd Mayweather, but Paul insists that will not be enough on fight night.
The event will also include the US debuts of Daniel Dubois and Tommy Fury and WBC/WBO featherweight champion Amanda Serrano. But most eyes will be on Paul as he seeks to back up his tireless self-promotion and admittedly astute marketing with another KO win after halting a fellow YouTuber, former NBA star and semi-retired MMA fighter in his previous contests.
Cruiserweight Paul (3-0, 3 KOs) admits he has been bitten hard by the boxing bug as he seeks to put on a show for his hometown crowd in Cleveland.
“I couldn’t have thought about a moment like this. I couldn’t have dreamt it. That’s why I was just looking around. I was like, ‘How am I here?’ This is the city that made me and to bring this one home is the perfect crescendo to my boxing career that’s just starting out,” said Paul, 24. “Looking around and seeing friends and family, seeing this beautiful city, I’m just having fun. I’m trying to soak it all in because you don’t get moments like this twice in life.
“Tyron said he’s training like he’s fighting Mike Tyson. Floyd Mayweather is training him and you can tell he’s in shape. He’s got the six pack back. He’s looking good. He’s not messing around. This is his biggest fight ever and the whole MMA community is counting on him to represent them and to get the ‘W’. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. And when I beat him, there will be no excuses because he was being trained by Floyd Mayweather. Because Jorge Masvidal said he was going to knock me out. Because he took this camp and had a 14-week camp. He has no excuses.
“I love boxing. I fell in love with it. There’s something about knocking someone out and cracking someone in the face. My whole life has been a fight. I never got anything handed to me so I feel like I’m at home. I feel like I was put on this earth to fight. And I like challenges. I’m driven by challenges.
“Boxing is a 24-7 job. The training camp – sleep, eat, recovery, no partying, no distractions – all of that type of stuff makes it the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. Plus, the promotional side of it. I’ve probably done 75 interviews in the past three weeks. It’s non-stop.”
Main image: Amanda Westcott/Showtime.