YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul is making noise in the combat sports world. With an upcoming boxing bout against Ben Askren, Paul and his team have been targeting a variety of names including Nate Diaz and the Irishman Conor McGregor.
Paul had exchanged intense trash talking messages with Askren over social media for months leading up to the announcement of their fight, which headlines the Triller Fight Club card on pay-per-view in Atlanta this weekend.
In addition to his feud with Askren, Paul has called out Dana White, who was willing to put up a million dollars on Ben Askren.
“I’m just having fun and trolling,” Paul told MMA Fighting on Thursday. “I’ve sort of purposefully pitting the MMA community against me so they tune into this fight. It worked.
“I’m excited for Dana White to lose a million dollars” Paul said. “But other than that, I’m going to prove millions and millions and millions of people wrong and they have motivated me to become the best version of myself over the last couple of years.”
If all works out for Paul, getting a win over Askren in spectacular fashion, then him and his team already have their eyes set on someone that can potentially break the PPV records, Conor McGregor.
“I think we both are on a road to each other,” Paul said about facing McGregor. “He wants another boxing fight. He wants to fight Manny Pacquiao. He would get toasted. He just keeps on taking Ls. So I think him fighting me would not only be his money fight, but it would technically be the easiest challenge, right? Fighting Jake Paul would probably be easier than fighting Manny Pacquiao and it would be just as big.
“I think we’re a lot closer to a Jake Paul-Conor McGregor fight than anyone thinks. I think it could happen in the next 24 months.”
Of course right now, McGregor is focused on the trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier, targeted for July 10th at UFC 264. McGregor has stated he expects to go back to the boxing ring one day, after his defeat against Floyd Mayweather, although he has never publicly stated anything regarding Jake Paul.
“Conor’s the big name,” Paul said. “He’s a A-list celebrity, and there are very few fighters who are A-list celebrities. So we’ll see what happens. I hope he wins against Dustin, I guess, so that the fight becomes more exciting.”
While it seems possible that Paul and McGregor will meet in the boxing ring, Paul needs to get past a former MMA world champion, olympian, etc. this weekend. If he were to knock out Askren, then we might get some traction toward this bout.
How does Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul go down? Do you think Paul-McGregor ever happens?