Jake Paul takes on Andre August this weekend on December 15th in what will be his ninth professional fight. ‘The Problem Child’ started his career on the social media app Vine. After that, Paul took his skills to YouTube where he amassed a huge following. However, despite being one of the biggest creators on the platform, Paul was always interested in expanding his horizons.
After trying his hand at a number of different outlets, it was boxing that Paul stuck with. Nowadays, Paul identifies himself as a boxer first. Given his personality, it is easy to forget that Paul turned professional only three years ago. ‘The Problem Child’ had his first professional fight in January 2020 against AnEson Gib. Since then he has set some lofty goals for himself and is trying to achieve them one step at a time.
One of the biggest goals for Paul starting out was to secure a fight against Conor McGregor. However, three years into his boxing career, Paul has a different take on the situation now. In a recent interview he recently called himself as a bigger star than McGregor. He said,
“McGregor would be pretty freaking massive and entertaining and fun. I would beat his as*. He won’t fight me at this point. It is funny how it went from like me calling him out to that seeming crazy to now, me being bigger in the sport than he is. And him knowing my skill level is greater than his in such a short amount of time. Life is crazy.”
Jake Paul believes he’s a bigger name than Conor McGregor in combat sports pic.twitter.com/bm9c27qNGn
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) December 12, 2023
Jake Paul does not shy away from making bold statements. He mentioned of being a bigger star in the world of boxing having better skills compared to the Irishman. Let’s take a look at the claims he has made and analyse if there is any truth to it.
Jake Paul to dethrone Conor McGregor as the biggest star in combat sports?
Ever since his fight against Floyd Mayweather, ‘The Notorious’ has reached levels of fame rarely ever reached by fighters. Despite being extremely inactive over the last few years, McGregor remains the biggest draw in combat sports. ‘The Notorious’ has time and time again headlined multiple events that have sold over a million in PPVs. Jake Paul on the other hand has failed to achieve such a feat.
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In addition to that, McGregor takes on the most elite fighters in his sport. Paul on the other hand, has been criticized of handpicking opponents with multiple handicaps stacking the odds in his favour. The fight against August will be a litmus test to see how relevant Paul still is. However, there has been little to no hype around the fight. Therefore, it is safe to say that many combat sports fans consider McGregor as a bigger draw than Jake Paul.
The Notorious is most likely to make his return to the octagon next year and fans would be excited to see him back.
