Israel Adesanya says he realized Jake Paul was “no joke” after talking with the controversial social media celebrity in the aftermath of his KO win over former NBA player Nate Robinson.
‘Stylebender’ was on commentary duty for the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. card that featured Paul in his second professional boxing match.
Post-fight, the UFC middleweight champion went back to Paul’s house and had an eye-opening conversation with ‘The Problem Child’ that made him realize just how serious Paul was about boxing.
Israel Adesanya Believes Jake Paul Is Serious About Boxing
“Nah, Jake Paul’s no joke man. When he fought Nate Robinson, I was there. I commentated that fight, right. And, I ended up at his house later on and I didn’t realise how big of a fan he was,” Adesanya told Ignore the Noise.
“For me, to commentate that fight I had to study what he did from Disney and that’s what kind of made me know ‘ok, this is what this kid’s history his’.
“Being at his house, talking to him, we talked for a long time and then I kind of realised, like, man, this guy, he’s crazy. And guess what? Those are the ones that get it done.”
“He was serious about boxing. People just thought, like, he’s just doing this for fun, he’s just doing this to try and make money, or get clout or whatever, but I was like, no. He’s got all the funds. All the access to be able to get it done.” (Transcribed by Mirror Fighting)
Paul may be serious about boxing, but he’s got a long way to go before fight fans accept him as a legitimate boxer. The 25-year-old is 5-0 as a professional but is yet to fight anyone with a background in the sport.
Do you agree with Israel Adesanya? Is Jake Paul serious about boxing?