Jake Paul is unironically one of the biggest stars in boxing right now. While he is definitely not a fighter that could beat the top stars of the sport, he is making a career of taking high-profile exhibition bouts. His pro record may be 3-0, but none of his wins came over an actual boxer. Despite that, he has drawn attention to boxing in a way nobody has in years.
Dana White saw one of his former fighters, Ben Askren, become Paul’s latest victim. White had bet $1 million on Askren to win the fight, which means the UFC Chairman just lost a million dollars to Snoop Dogg. But he is giving Paul the credit he deserves, while also dragging boxing for allowing a YouTuber to become one of their biggest stars.
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Dana White on Jake Paul: "Boxing continues to go like this [gestures downwards]. This guy is playing this thing perfectly and boxing's in such a bad place, they're doing a really good job at sucking in people to buy into this thing. Good for him." [@YahooSports]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 20, 2021
The boxing model isn’t set up like the UFC, so keeping control of popularity isn’t as easy. Many promoters refuse to work with each other, and we see top fighters rarely fight once a year because of how hard it is to put fights together. The UFC and Dana White do not have that problem, as they have all their fighters contracted and have full control over match-making.
Jake Paul: The next boxing superstar?
Jake Paul is incredibly popular. However, it will take a long time before he can’t each the status of boxers like Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, or even Floyd Mayweather. He is currently looked at as a sideshow act who is taking easy fights to make quick money off the sport.
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 17: Jake Paul celebrates after defeating Ben Askren in their cruiserweight bout during Triller Fight Club at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 17, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Triller)
They would be 100% correct in that assumption, as Paul has indicated himself. He is making millions of dollars by putting these fights on and is genuinely beating people with athletic experience. While a basketball player and a wrestler aren’t the best opponents for him to make his case against, people are buying into whatever he is doing.
READ MORE: ‘Happily Knock This F***er Out’- UFC Lightweight Legend Calls Out Jake Paul
If he can get another super-fight, there is no telling how big this can become. His brother Logan Paul will have an exhibition bout with Floyd Mayweather soon. The Paul’s are genuinely taking over the world of boxing.
