JAKE PAUL said Dillon Danis ‘lives with his mum’ and ruled out fighting his rival as he would be ‘letting the fans down’.
The YouTuber has been feuding with Danis, one of Conor McGregor’s training partners, for several years.
It led to Paul, 24, offering the 2-0 Bellator welterweight a boxing match for March this year.
But Danis, 27, was ruled out with a knee injury, and Ben Askren, 36, who retired from the UFC in 2019, instead took the fight and was knocked out.
Despite the personal grudge between the two, Paul is adamant the jiujitsu champion has missed out on the chance to box him.
He told SunSport: “It’s a genuine beef for sure.
“But at this point he’s just a McGregor fan boy, clout-chasing, 27-year-old guy who lives with his mum and just talks s*** to me on Instagram trying to fight me.
“But when the contract was presented to his face months ago he denied it.
“And I told him, ‘Yo man, if you don’t take the fight now I’m never going to fight you because you’re going to become irrelevant after this, you’re not even a challenge to me right now, let alone after I beat Ben Askren.
“It’s just left in the dust, he missed his opportunity and he will forever be known as a 2-0 jiujitsu guy who fights in Bellator and that nobody cares about.”
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Paul made his boxing debut in January 2020, stopping online rival ‘AnEsonGib’ in one round after two knockdowns.
He later scored highlight-reel KOs against ex-NBA star Nate Robinson and Askren, both 36.
But yet to face an experienced boxer or MMA fighter with proven striking skills, Paul’s record has come under question.
Desperate for a step up in competition, he has ruled out boxing Danis and claimed it would be a waste of his fans’ time and money to watch it.
Paul said: “After I beat each one of my opponents everyone makes excuses for them.
“So before the Ben Askren fight everyone was like, ‘Oh, Jake’s going to lose. Ben Askren’s a real fighter’.
“It was sort of 50/50, people didn’t know what was going to happen.
“Then I beat him and people say, ‘He’s just a wrestler, not a striker, fight someone who is legit’.
“Ben is a guy that’s gone up against some of the best strikers in the welterweight division and has won 19 times.
“If I were to fight Dillon the excuses would pile in even before I destroy him. They’d say, ‘He’s only had two fights, he does jiujitsu and he’s not a striker’.
“I’m not challenging myself, I’m almost letting the fans down and the community as I’m literally going to go in there and knock this guy out in one or two rounds.
“I’m tired of my fans paying $50 and they only get one minute. I want a challenge. I want someone to punch me in the f***ing face.
“This is fighting and I haven’t been hit yet in my three professional fights.
“I’m a little disappointed and I know I don’t get paid extra being in there for longer rounds but, like let’s put on a show here.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
