According to the man himself, without boxing, we might not have Jake Paul.
Paul has established himself as a fairly decently skilled boxer after racking up five consecutive wins in his professional career. Among those five, four have resulted in knockouts, two of which came against former multi-time mixed martial arts (MMA) world champions, Ben Askren (watch highlights) and Tyron Woodley (watch highlights).
“The Problem Child” was already famous and successful without boxing in his life, thanks to platforms like YouTube and the now-defunct six-second video app, Vine. However, Paul admits no boxing career could have been the end of his life — period.
“Boxing saved my life, so I owe a ton to it,” Paul told Teddy Atlas (h/t MiddleEasy). “I would be in jail or probably dead somewhere if it weren’t for boxing because I was going down a really weird path in my early 20s that wasn’t sustainable and because of that I owe everything to this sport.
“That’s why I’m so passionate about making boxing great again,” he added. “I have the hat that says make boxing great again… I’ll slowly earn more people’s respect.”
Paul is often criticized simply for even venturing into the sport in the first place. Despite his unique celebrity-style status, the 25-year-old hasn’t done things in an entirely selfish manner as he continues to be a loud voice and advocate for an increase in fighter pay.
“I understand people’s perspective about how it’s a circus and how this isn’t boxing but again all I’m doing is putting in the work and trying to get better in the gym and fighting tougher opponents each time,” Paul said. “I respect this sport more than anything. I think anyone that puts on the 10 oz gloves and gets in that squared circle should be respected because you’re risking your life at the end of the day and that’s why I take this very seriously.
“All I ever wanted to do is to contribute to the sport, bring new eyeballs to the sport, help fighters get paid more,” he concluded.