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Jake Paul is headed back into the ring
Jake Paul is back in the ring on December 15 versus a guy called Andre August.
Since beginning his “crossover” boxing career in 2020, Jake Paul has somehow become one of the bigger draws in professional boxing. He’s fought his way to a 7-1 record with all of his wins coming against fellow social media influencers or under-sized, over-aged former competitors in other sports (basketball, mixed-martial arts).
Paul’s sole professional loss came in a snooze fest against boxer Tommy Fury, no athletic comparison to his older brother Tyson Fury.
Paul’s last bout against Nate Diaz performed surprisingly strongly on pay-per-view and seemed to reived interest in his fighting career which had stalled about the tedious loss to Fury.
The announcement of Andre August, an unheralded pro boxer with a thin record and no social media cache, was a surprising choice.
Paul could have gone up against another shot MMA fighter like Darren Till. Paul could have finally met social media and crossover boxing peer KSI or rematched Tommy Fury (thanks for not doing that last one BTW).
There’s room to speculate he chose August as a bit of a tune-up fight or perhaps he’s got something more ambitious up his sleeve.
Paul is telling TMZ this isn’t a money play.
“This is probably just a break-even fight for me,” Jake told Michael Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show on FS1. “I probably won’t even make money on it. Who knows what the outcome is. It’s $200,000 for a private jet to fly around just to get me there and back.
“He’s a beast, he’s a dog and he’s coming to win,” Jake said of his opponent. “This is his make-or-break moment as a boxer himself. It’s gonna be a really good fight.”
If Paul wanted to make one of the biggest fights ever there’s one person who would be certain to draw a crowd (and lots of cash).
Jake Paul vs. Conor McGregor is a rumour that will not die
Jake Paul has been calling out Conor McGregor for years.
It seemed ridiculous a couple of years back when Paul essentially had no combat sports resume and McGregor was headlining mega-UFC pay-per-views against Dustin Poirier. But time does funny things to fighters’ reputations and McGregor has been on an epic reputational slide since snapping his shin bone in his last bout.
If McGregor does face Michael Chandler at, say, UFC 300, and manages to lose in ignominious fashion, a boxing bout with Jake Paul would be a next logical step down the career ladder for Mystic Mac.
McGregor’s manager and business partner Audie Attar spoke to FOX News about the potential match-up. And it sounds like there’s actually a possibility that this happens one day.
“I think anything’s always possible. You never say never,” Attar said of the potential mega-fight. “It’s all about how things line up. I think the challenge with combat sports is looking that far ahead.
“You never say never. Getting back into the octagon is step one, going in and handling business there. Then, not looking past that, but then, obviously, when you get past that, look at your options and see what’s next.”
Will the UFC let McGregor box again?
When Conor McGregor last put on boxing gloves for a bout with Floyd Mayweather, it was under a very special set of circumstances and at the absolute height of his fame and popularity. And even then the UFC was heavily involved on the business side of putting the fight together. Dana White has even recently claimed the UFC paid Mayweather.
But following the UFC’s decision to get out of the Francis Ngannou business just in time to miss out on his storied bout with Tyson Fury, maybe the UFC would be open to a Conor McGregor vs Jake Paul bout sometime in the future.
Is leasing out McGregor for a big boxing spectacle the most profitable thing the UFC could do with McGregor? Could they use this as a way to pivot their stance and show other big names that they don’t have to go the Ngannou route to score big fights (the route which gives the UFC zero in return).
Stay tuned, maybe we’ll find out.
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