Jake Paul isn’t just fighting for fame. He wants to become the biggest prize-fighter in boxing history.
That’s what Paul, who takes on Ben Askren in an eight-round boxing match on April 17, told reporters yesterday at the Triller Fight Club press conference in Las Vegas.
“After my Nate Robinson fight, there were probably about 70 people calling me out, wanting to fight me,” Paul, who is 2-0 as a professional boxer, told the media on Friday (h/t BJPenn.com). “There was probably six people that made sense to fight: [Michael] Bisping, [Conor] McGregor, [Nate] Diaz, [Dillon] Danis, Askren, some YouTubers that are popular, but I wanted to fight a real MMA fighter.
“When it came to signing the contract, a lot of them didn’t want to do it. By the way, this is me coming to them with the biggest payday of their lives. This is Ben’s biggest payday of his life. He’s publicly said that. So, when it came down to signing the contract, he was actually down.”
“I’m definitely a ‘boxing-lifer,’” he added. “I’m addicted to this sport. I will become the biggest prize-fighter in boxing. Simple as that.”
Paul is taking his training seriously and has the following to make an impact, but the YouTuber has a long way to go before he earns the respect of his peers.
Askren marks a huge step-up in competition for Paul as the former Bellator and ONE FC welterweight champion has years of experience under his belt in MMA and knows how to perform under pressure. Paul’s previous two opponents had no professional fighting experience whatsoever.
Askren vs. Paul is scheduled to take place on April 17 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
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