Jake Paul isn’t just Jake Paul. He’s “YouTuber Jake Paul.”
It’s an unfair tag to be placed on a 26-year-old who has launched a successful betting platform, has championed better pay for women fighters (and fighters in general) and has won six of his seven professional fights. And those fights haven’t been your typical entry point into boxing. They’ve been mostly against world-class athletes. (Sure, some are past their prime, and Paul did knock out a retired basketball player, but his last fight against legitimate boxer Tommy Fury was a split decision, and he knocked Fury down in the eighth round).
And yet, “YouTuber” still hangs over him.
“I don’t really know what the moment is going to be,” Paul answered, about when the public would shed that label and he’d be recognized as Jake Paul, boxer. “I can hang in there with anybody at any level, and my goal is to become a world champion.”
One could understand Paul’s frustrations, but he’s been thrown scorn before and understands where it’s coming from. “People filled with hate who are projecting what they can do or can’t accomplish onto me,” he said. “People don’t believe in themselves, so how (should) I expect them to believe in me?”
Paul’s quest for legitimacy isn’t helped much by his older brother, Logan, who looks like him and also is dipping his toes into combat sports. Conflate them into one 6-foot blonde Ohioan at your own risk — where Jake has a legitimate BoxRec page and is close to cracking the crusierweight rankings (he would have done so with a win over Fury), Logan participated in an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather and is now performing (very impressive) high-flying moves for the WWE.
Jake’s fight on Aug. 5 against Nate Diaz might seem like another let-me-fight-an-aging-former-UFC-star matchup, but this will be a very real fight and there’s an added twist: Paul has a co-headliner in Amanda Serrano. There are two main events, in other words, and Paul repeatedly has proven that elevating the women’s fight game is just as important to him as his own career.
“It almost didn’t seem real that a seven-division world champion was getting paid $10,000 to fight,” Paul explained. “I wanted to be a helping hand in changing that and to advocate for women in the sport in general. Because I love the sport, I love women’s boxing.”
Paul said that while he used his popularity to highlight Serrano, she is responsible for everything afterward.
“All I did was shine a spotlight. And pretty much, Amanda Serrano did the rest.”
Paul’s promotions company, Most Valuable Promotions (which he co-founded with Nakisa Bidaria), recently signed Shadasia “The Sweet Terminator” Green, a 33 year-old undefeated super middleweight who will fight on the Paul-Diaz undercard. She’s the No. 2 ranked American in her division. It’s a further attempt by Paul to continue to “shine that spotlight” on the sport using his platform.
“For the first card with Amanda Serrano, I gave her — what was it — like, a record payday for a woman? Out of my own pocket,” Paul said. “To set that precedent of, you know, this should be the new standard. And then, it’s worked and only grown since that number.”
Paul noted that after the last two Serrano fights, in the various Puerto Rican gyms he’s set up through his charity, Boxing Bullies, those gyms are “all of a sudden filled up with young women. So, we’re seeing it kind of grow all across the board.” His end game for women fighters is simply equality — in recognition, in platform and in pay.
“Hopefully, they’re just paid properly and getting the same opportunities and the same respect that the men get for participating in the hardest sport in the world,” he said. “They deserve that. For me, that’s the most important thing.”
As for his upcoming fight, Paul has been sparring against a southpaw who is the “exact replica of Diaz” at his camp in Puerto Rico, but he also has brought in sparring partners of all styles — even orthodox fighters, in case Diaz comes with a surprise.
“They may bring something to the fight that you didn’t expect, and you’re going to have to adapt and overcome that,” Paul said of his opponents. “That’s a special skill that you have to practice.”
Paul added that film sessions have been intense and analytical. “I’m evolving so much — and each fight is different. We’re really current with our film study, and it’s mostly my last sparring session that we’re reviewing,” he said.
On paper, Paul is a tantalizing prospect, someone who has beaten world-class athletes and isn’t just putting down typical journeymen who a lot of young fighters match up against early in their careers. He credits boxing for “saving my life” and calls it his first love. He’s not asking for much in return — just acknowledgment that he can do this.
Paul has millions of dollars, near-unlimited resources, a gigantic platform and adoring fans, and his 7-month-old betting platform, Betr, employs 80 people and is estimated to be worth $340 million. They recently launched a fantasy sports-ish “picks” game (“It’s blown away my expectations,” Paul said.”)
And yet, with all this success, charity, and goodwill, there is the white whale of what he has to do to shed the “YouTuber” salutation and just be recognized as Jake Paul, boxer.
“I’m a boxer, through and through,” he said. ” I’m just going to have to show them.”
