“Judge David Iacobucci sees the contest 80–72, while judges Laurence Cole and Jesse Reyes see it 79–73, declaring your winner by unanimous decision: Jake ‘El Gallo’ Paul.” More than 108 million viewers on Netflix heard it live as Kody Mommaerts read out the shocking result from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in November last year. And just like that, one of the most feared heavyweights of all time, Mike Tyson, had been conquered by the YouTuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul. For those who are not in the loop, the 28-year-old is now set to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., son of Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez, on July 28 in Anaheim. Even though his initial footsteps in the sport were considered absurd or a way for him to accrue more clout, most can agree that he has made a name for himself in boxing.

Sure, not in the way legitimate fighters would, since he has mostly fought retired MMA fighters like Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, and out-of-prime boxers like Ryan Bourland and Mike Tyson. Yet, as Oscar De La Hoya put it while talking to the hosts of Power 106 Los Angeles a few days ago: “He’s got 11 fights now. He’s fighting Chavez Jr., an ex-world champion, that went the distance with Canelo [Alvarez]?…I can’t blame him for trying. Chavez Jr. has 60-something fights…Jake Paul is creeping up little by little…And a lot of people hate it, but that’s why he’s so popular cuz they watch.” It’s pretty evident that the boxing community has started to accept him, whether haters like it or not. He is already much higher in terms of social media popularity than many traditional, decorated boxers.

Recently, boxing outlet Boxing.media posted a thread on their Instagram handle comparing the most followed boxers on the platform. Among names like Canelo Alvarez, Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis, and Anthony Joshua, who do you think boasts the biggest virtual fanbase? Yup, the 28-year-old Jake Paul. At the time of writing, the influencer YouTuber-actor-boxer had a staggering 28.5 million followers on Instagram! That overshadows even fellow YouTubers like PewDiePie, which pretty much explains Paul’s fame.

Not to mention that Canelo Alvarez is practically the megastar and face of boxing currently. As a two-time undisputed super middleweight champion, he only had 19 million followers. AJ, meanwhile, was closer to Canelo’s number with 16.6 million. King Ry was trailing further behind with a modest 12.1 million. Tank, surprisingly, had a lower follower count of 7.6 million.

However, social media clout doesn’t tell the whole story. Canelo’s $300 million net worth, built through a storied boxing career, towers over Paul’s $100 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. Ryan Garcia sits at $50 million, while Gervonta Davis has $10 million. But Paul’s staggering net worth likely stems from his YouTube and entertainment roots rather than boxing.

Back when Jake Paul wasn’t a famous YouTuber

Only those who are exceptional at something get recognized in the field. That’s exactly why El Gallo, who was just a 15-year-old kid back in 2012, filmed YouTube videos with his brother Logan and posted them on a channel named ldogandjslice. In September 2013, he joined Vine, where you could post 6-second short clips, shorter than Instagram allows today. Now he has the YouTube Diamond Play Button with a status of 20.9 million subscribers!

Starting from Vine, Jake Paul and Logan would put out comedic skits that quickly resonated with people. By 2016, Jake Paul already had 5.3 million followers there and 2 billion views. Now Vine shut down in 2018, but Paul was smart enough to diversify his followers to YouTube. Right from 2014, he’d been posting on his channel by the name of “Jake Paul.” He would post similar content, with vlogs, comedic videos, and pranks being the center point.

Eventually, when he landed a role in the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark (2016), his fame poured out into the mainstream. From there on, the rest is history, as the 28-year-old enjoys a feat nobody can quite puff up. Now that Paul is going to fight Chavez Jr., do you think that a win would finally establish him as an actual boxer in the sport? Or does he still have a long way to go?