Jake Paul: “I Don’t Need to Prove Myself To All These People”

If Jake Paul is feeling antsy about his imminent boxing match with former UFC fighter Ben Askren, he’s not showing it. In a recent interview with the Daily Mail Australia, the YouTuber bragged that other fighters only work a fraction as hard as he does, saying “I don’t need to prove myself to all these people.” And as for Askren? “I don’t care he hits hard. You have to be able to hit someone to affect them.”

Behind the bravado, Paul must be intensely aware of just how much is riding on the fight. Beating someone like Askren, who has serious pedigree as a fighter, would encourage even the biggest cynics to start seeing Jake Paul as a boxer first and YouTuber second.

It’s certainly been quite the story arc for Paul. The 24-year-old got his start making funny/crazy/reckless videos online, and later became infamous for throwing raucous house parties, feuding with his neighbors and getting fired from a Disney comedy series. Racking up millions of subscribers on YouTube, he could easily have carried on making a fortune from his social media skits. Instead, he’s committed himself to a new, regimented life as a professional boxer. 

“I really have to push myself outside of my comfort zone to do those sprints,” he told Insider last year. “To wake up on a Saturday morning when all my friends are in Los Angeles, out at the clubs, making music, having fun, and I’m up early, isolated, running sprints, and nearly puking.”

Paul made his professional debut back in January 2020. His opponent was fellow YouTube personality AnEsonGib, and it was over in the first round when Paul delivered three flash knockdowns. “I didn’t even get to showcase my boxing ability,” Paul triumphantly declared. “It was all just natural instinct.” 

Few could have predicted how judderingly one-sided the match turned out to be, and people began to take Paul more seriously from that moment on. Even if they also admitted that such a decisive victory was the last thing the notorious attention hog’s ego needed.

Paul’s second pro match saw him go toe to toe with former NBA player Nate Robinson. That rolled around in November 2020, on the undercard of the highly anticipated Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr fight in Los Angeles. Paul was on brutal form, ruthlessly demolishing Robinson in another one-sided confrontation. Knocked down in the first round, Robinson was felled again in the second, before being knocked out cold. Medics rushed to the ring, and spectator Snoop Dogg dubbed it a “hood fight”. 

Now, Paul is up against Ben Askren – the first experienced fighter he’s had to contend with. Logic dictates that this will be Paul’s true test as a boxer, and Askren has already proven his equal when it comes to trash talk. “You’re telling me you’re gonna pay me a whole bunch of money to beat up a YouTube star?” Askren said in a radio interview. “That just sounds like a fun Friday night to me.”

So what are Paul’s chances of making it a 3-0 sweep in his fledgling boxing career? Well, he’s certainly young and hungry compared to a 36-year-old retired MMA fighter. His wrecking ball performances against AnEsonGib and Robinson prove that he has the necessary ferocity. But the fact is, neither of those opponents were fighters – a fact highlighted by Espn’s online coverage of the Robinson match, which began with the blunt declaration: “Nate Robinson should not have been in a boxing ring.”

Paul himself has acknowledged all of this, and is putting everything into his preparations, even bringing in Jorge Masvidal as a trainer. Masvidal, lest we forget, knocked Askren out in five seconds at UFC 239. 

What do the sportsbooks have to say on the matter? Well, typical odds sourced via GamblingDeals have Jake Paul as the -265 favourite and Ben Askren as the +205 underdog. It seems that, despite Paul’s relative inexperience, bookmakers are impressed by his track record of utterly destroying his opponents. Not to mention the fact that Askren has never boxed professionally, and isn’t known for his striking power.

One man who certainly has Paul’s back is Mike Tyson, who’s called the “God-gifted” YouTuber as one of the saviours of the sport, saying “Boxing owes these guys – YouTube boxers – some respect. Boxing was pretty much a dying sport. The UFC was kicking our butt.”