One bare-knuckle boxer learned the hard way that Jake Paul isn’t a joke inside the ring.
Paul has slowly turned some heads with his boxing performances, having at the very least proved his power and fundamentals in the squared circle.
Across a 12-fight professional career thus far, Paul has knocked out Tyron Woodley and netted decisions over Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz. He has also had success against some low-level boxing names, with Paul retiring three-time Golden Gloves champion Andre August.
While ‘The Problem Child’ still has a sizable group of detractors, many of his opponents have been made to eat their words. And behind the scenes, it seems a number of bodies brought in to train with Paul were left surprised by the 28-year-old’s talents.
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Jake Paul ripped training partner’s lip open with sparring uppercut
During the camp for his first-round knockout against Ben Askren, a former UFC star who won titles in Bellator and ONE Championship, Paul put in some work with English bare-knuckle boxer Jake Bostwick.
Bostwick is a former regional MMA champion who notably defeated PFL middleweight standout Costello van Steenis before transitioning to boxing.
Speaking to Cene Magazine in 2021, ‘Brutal’ reflected on his time training with Paul, revealing the Cleveland native left his face damaged with a devastating uppercut.
“He was sparring with some guys in Miami not far from me and I was hearing that he was lighting some people up and giving out some really good work,” Bostwick said.
“He needed some more sparring partners and they were feeling out some guys – this was for the Ben Askren fight – so I got a couple of messages saying there was a good opportunity to come down for some sparring with Jake Paul.
“So I was down for it, but the guy said, ‘Listen, the guy can box, please don’t think he can’t’. And this was coming from a professional coach, a guy I know.
“We did three solid rounds and he caught me with some shots! He hit me with an uppercut and detached my top lip! He caught me with some s—! I was like ‘What the f—?’”
Dana White is not worried about UFC 317 going head-to-head with Jake Paul’s next fight
Paul has recently completed his latest fight camp, as he gears up to return to the ring against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
After record-breaking viewership on Netflix for his most recent bout against Mike Tyson, ‘The Problem Child’ will hope for a successful return to pay-per-view on Saturday night.
One hurdle in the way of that, however, could be the event he and Chavez Jr are up against.
The Cleveland native’s 13th professional bout will take place on the same night as UFC 317 closes out the MMA leader’s International Fight Week celebrations in Las Vegas.
Dana White, for one, is not concerned about the clash.
“I didn’t even f—ing know that,” White told Bloody Elbow when asked about going up against Paul vs. Chavez Jr. “I didn’t even know he was fighting so that’s how concerned I am about it.”
While Paul and Chavez Jr will main event the boxing action at Anaheim’s Honda Center, Charles Oliveira vs. Ilia Topuria headlines UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena on June 28.