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Jake Paul's Impact On Boxing - Reimagining Fighting Entertainment

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Jake Paul’s Impact On Boxing – Reimagining Fighting Entertainment

Whether you love or hate the Logan brothers it doesn’t change the fact that the duo are some of the most talked about influencers, not only making waves for their stellar content creation skills and ability to cause drama but also for their talent as athletes. 

The two brothers are known for bringing in massive numbers of viewers whenever they host a boxing event. In fact, during Jake Paul’s fight with Ben Askren the PPV profit that was amassed is reported to be worth at least $65 million

So, if you’re curious about Jake Paul and how a Disney star ended up in boxing rings around the country with some of the best in the game, then keep reading.  

Who is Jake Paul?

Jake Joseph Paul was born on January 17th of 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio. He’s an American actor, musician, Youtuber, and professional boxer. 

He’s well known for his video “It’s Everyday Bro” which he created with his content creation group Team 10, as well as his controversial vlogs, and boxing matches.

Jake and his brother Logan were some of the most influential and followed creators on Vine, a short-form video platform that shut down in 2017. Once Vine came to an abrupt end, he decided to transition his efforts to Youtube and began working on his channel full-time. 

According to Social Blade, Jake’s Youtube account is currently home to over 20 million subscribers, with over seven billion watch hours, and is ranked in some of the top Youtube channel roundups for different categories.

The Paul brothers are both known for being some of the most controversial and polarizing content creators. Jake was even given the title of “problem child” by the media, due to his neverending bad press. 

After his newfound Youtube fame, Jake went on to surpass his brother in popularity. Logan had previously been the most famous of the two, especially in the years leading up to Vine’s shutdown. Yet, Jake’s social profiles grew fast and his stardom landed him acting jobs for both Youtube Premium and cable TV shows, most notably his role as Dirk in the Disney comedy Bizaardvark from 2016 to 2017.

The company and Paul parted ways after many controversies surrounding the type of content he would upload on his social media channels, with Disney going on to claim that it was inappropriate. This disagreement led to the ending of a two-year contract. 

But, as I’m sure you can already imagine, Jake Paul didn’t let that hold him back!

Jake Paul’s Move to Boxing

Jake started combat sports training during his teenage years, and even then he set himself a goal to become a good boxer. During this time, he was juggling his content creation career with his education and love for sports. In fact, it’s common knowledge that both brothers have a passion for athletic endeavors, yet that didn’t stop them from taking slightly different paths. 

Either way, both of the brother’s rise to boxing fame is still at the point where they’re just getting started. From a financial standpoint, the number of viewers they pull in is astronomical. This is interesting, seeing as they were both once considered to be Disney problem children, yet nowadays their hard work has garnered them the respectable title of entrepreneurs, which there’s no denying they are. 

Although nobody expected them to take boxing  seriously their newfound career began in 2018 when older brother Logan Paul was in the midst of a feud with another famous content creator KSI whose recent fight with Joe Weller had been viewed by millions of fans across the globe. 

Olajide Olatunji, more commonly known as KSI challenged Logan to a fight, and Jake also obliged by agreeing to take on KSI’s younger brother Deji. The fights took place in August of 2018, in the famous Manchester arena in England. 

It was this fight that launched Jake’s boxing career. With him fast becoming the center of gossip in the boxing world, with viewers and media alike questioning who hed be challenged next, and wondering if there’d even be a second fight. 

Jake admitted in a Rolling Stone interview that the adrenaline and thrill of boxing is something that he is unable to find elsewhere. He was quoted saying, “Showing up and working your a** off, being alert. I don’t know what else could really compare to being a professional fighter. I think it’s probably the hardest thing in the world you could possibly do.”

As a teenager, Jake Paul participated in a variety of sports, but it seems that the rush he experienced while boxing in his younger years is something he still craves to date. His love for the sport is what has led him to this point, making boxing his main career path and putting his content creation efforts on the back burner. 

In his own words Paul said, “When I got the opportunity to box when I was 21, it brought back the old Jake Paul. It brought back the competitive, athletic Jake Paul. I just fell in love with it. When I won my first boxing match, it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

We’ve come a long way from the first fight, and since then Jake Paul has gone on the fight some notable figures. Let’s take a look at a brief timeline of Paul’s boxing career so far. 

Jake Paul vs Deji

After the confirmation of the KSI vs. Logan Paul fight, Deji who is KSI’s younger brother challenged Jake to a match. 

Jake went on to accept the challenge, which was followed by a couple of press conferences in which Jake and Deji would spend most of the time insulting each other. In fact, a few days prior to the fight Deji gatecrashed one of Paul’s press conferences which ended with Jake slapping him in the face.

This move went on to cause some controversy when one of Deji’s friends retaliated by attaching Greg Paul, Logan, and Jake’s father. 

And even though Deji would leave him with a bloody nose, Jake would go on to win the match.

Jake would proceed to request a rematch from Deji while he was making a public appearance at Impaulsive in Los Angeles. Deji was advised to decline the offer, which resulted in Jake going on to challenge American rapper Chris Brown by saying: “I know you were supposed to fight Soulja Boy. But I think it is time you got in the ring with someone your own size.”

Jake Paul vs AnEsonGib

In December 2019, it was announced that Jake Paul would be revisiting the ring with a scheduled fight for January of the following year against AnEsonGib in Miami, Florida. 

The match was a co-feature on the WBO world middleweight title between two professional boxes, Luke Keeler and Demetrius Andrade. 

Jake Paul would go on to win this fight thanks to a TKO in the first round. 

During the press conference, Jake took it upon himself to continue challenging KSI to a fight, perhaps this was his way of celebrating the win.  

Jake Paul vs Nate Robinson

In mid-2020, it was announced that Jake Pal would once again be making an appearance in the ring with a scheduled fight against professional NBA player and three times Slam Dunk winner Nate Robinson as part of the Roy Jones Jr. Vs. Mike Tyson event. 

Originally the fight had been scheduled to take place in September, in California. Yet Tyson went on to reveal that the date would be pushed back to November due to attempts to maximize revenue. 

Jake Paul was declared the winner after a KO during the second round. During the press conferences, Paul would challenge Dillon Danis and mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor. 

Jake Paul vs Ben Askren

After a lot of social media back and forth, this fight was announced in late 2020. The fight was supposed to take place in Los Angeles, yet this was later changed to Atlanta. 

The event was extremely exclusive, with limited attendance that consisted of an audience of 100 people who’d won entrance tickets via a previously hosted promotion on the Triller app. The fight’s event was produced by Malea Rose who acted as a creative director for the entire event. 

During the run-up to the fight, UFC president Dana White stated on Mike Tyson’s podcast that he would bet 1 million on Jake losing the match to Askren. Paul went on to challenge Dana to double the bet, to which Snoop Dogg countered White’s original bet by placing 2 million on Jake winning the much-anticipated fight. 

Jake would go on to defeat Askren in the first round via TKO. 

According to some sources, the event was estimated to have amassed a profit of 1.45 million thanks to pay-per-view buys, nevertheless, this went on to create controversy with multiple fighters, boxers, and fans bringing into question the legitimacy of the match.

Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley

In May 2021, Jake Paul signed a deal with TV network Showtime, giving them the rights to air his next fight. 

In July he announced his next fight would be against former UFC champion Tyron Woodley, with the date of the match set to take place in Cleveland, Ohio, in August of that year. 

At this point, Paul’s record was looking impressive. With 3 KOs in a row and a recent first-round victory against Ben Askren, his professional boxing career was beginning to catch the attention of pro athletes worldwide. In contrast, Woodley had recently experienced a first-round loss against Vicente Luque, leaving him with a record of four consecutive losses as a mixed martial artist. 

Jake went on to win the match by split decision – one of the judges was in favor of Woodley, while the remaining two voted in favor of Paul.

Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley II

In October of 2021,  a fight between the undefeated duo Tommy Fury and Jake Paul was announced, with a date set for December. 

This news came less than four months after Fury’s U.S. debut as the undercard during Paul’s fight with Tyron Woodley. During the fight, Tommy went on to defeat Anthony Taylor via unanimous decision, although the results were later questioned due to weight differences. 

Nevertheless, Fury would pull out of the match just weeks before the fight was scheduled to take place due to a bacterial chest infection and a broken rib. Fury was replaced by Tyron Woodley, who’d lost to Paul previously in August. 

Jake Paul went on to win the rematch by KO in the sixth round.

Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva

In September of 2022, Jake Paul announced that he would go on to face Anderson Silva a former UFC Middleweight Champion, in Arizona on the 29th of the following month. 

During all of the pressers that took place before the fight, Jake would make a point to mention what a fan he was of Silva growing up, and how he had always enjoyed watching his fights.  

The fight drew in a crowd of 14 thousand spectators and lasted all eight hours. Jake Paul was unanimously named the winner, which would go on to give him a record of six consecutive wins with zero defeats. 

Paul knocked out Silva in the final round and went on to challenge Nate Diaz, former UFC star and Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez during the winner’s press conference, as usual. 

Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury

Lastly in Jake Pauls’s boxing timeline is his recent fight with Tommy Fury. The two had originally been scheduled to fight back in 2021, but as mentioned above, Fury pulled out due to a bacterial chest infection. 

This fight was later rescheduled for August of 2022, however once again Fury would backed out blaming travel issues as the reason why. In July, it was announced that Hsim Rahman Jr. would replace Tommy in the scheduled fight, yet this too would go on to be canceled due to weight concerns. 

In January 2023, it was confirmed via Twitter that the long-awaited fight was scheduled to take palace in Saudi Arabia during February 2023. The match would take place in the Diriyah Arena. 

During the run-up campaign, Jake Paul went on to wager Fury, offering him double pay if he won, but nothing if he lost. 

Paul would later go on to lose the match via split decision, even though he knocked Tommy Fury down during the eighth round. This was Pauls’s first professional loss and the fight that broke his winning streak. 

After the fight it was announced that because Jake Paul lost, his rematch clause would activate, meaning that Tommy Fury will have to agree to a second round at some point in the future. And in fact, according to ESPN reporter Mike Coppinger, a July rematch is being discussed. 

Conclusion

Who knows what the future holds for Jake Paul – but one thing is for certain – his boxing career isn’t slowing any time soon. 

Paul’s dedication to the sport paired with his ability to challenge other athletes is the perfect match. He’s able to re-invigorate boxing and drum up interest in younger generations who otherwise wouldn’t have paid attention to who’s fighting who and where. 

It’s interesting to see that what was once considered a joke is now being taken quite seriously by all boxing-related organizations, as well as pro athletes. Either way, we’re sure that Paul’s boxing career has only just begun, and that the all-star content creator turned boxer still has plenty of surprises left up his sleeves. 

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David Adler is an entrepreneur and freelance blog post writer who enjoys writing about business, entrepreneurship, travel and the influencer marketing space.

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