Ahead of his Triller promoted professional boxing match this weekend against Ben Askren, 2-0 YouTuber, Jake Paul has retracted recent comments made by him — claiming that recent brain scans revealed that he was suffering from early-onset symptoms of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).
Paul, who is set to headline the event against former UFC welterweight and former ONE Championship and Bellator MMA welterweight champion, Askren, recently spoke at a press event ahead of the Triller Fight Club event, where he revealed that recent brain scans revealed that he was suffering from CTE.
“It’s a dangerous sport,” Paul said on Thursday. “That’s why when people question my dedication to it, I’m showing up every single day, I’m putting my mental health on the line, my brain is on the line. I’ve gone and gotten brain scans and have early signs of CTE but I love this sport and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.“
“I’m a fighter and people will see that,” Paul said. “Whether it’s after Saturday night or a year from now, they will see that I’m a fighter.“
CTE is described as a degenerative brain disease, which can be caused by repeated head trauma, however, there are no ways currently known in which a medical professional or a test can detect chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a living person. The disease can be detected after a person has died, during an autopsy procedure only.
Retracting his comment after some notable backlash from those within the combat sports community, namely from former UFC light heavyweight championship challenger, Anthony Smith — Paul claimed he should not have spoken about the disease.
“I wanna retract my comments made about CTE as it relates to me and my medical history,” Paul wrote on his official Twitter. “It’s a very serious condition that I should not have misspoken about.“
Reacting to Paul’s claims, the above-mentioned, Smith called Paul “stupid“, “careless“, and “disgusting“.
“My take,” Smith wrote on his official Twitter. “1. He’s (Jake Paul) exactly as stupid and careless as we all thought. 2. Lying about this (CTE) to be cool or whatever shows his absolute disrespect for the real fighters and their families that have and will suffer from the very real, devastating effects of CTE. He’s disgusting.“