JAKE PAUL hopes his fight with Tyron Woodley goes ‘a couple rounds’ to avoid fans accusing him of another fix.
The YouTuber is 3-0 in his career, all by knockout, and beat online rival ‘AnEsonGib’ and then ex-NBA star Nate Robinson, 37.
Most recently, he finished retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren, 37, in less than two minutes with a stunning right hand.
With only a combined five rounds in three fights, Paul faces his biggest challenge to date on August 29 against ex-UFC champion Woodley, 39.
And the social media star-turned prizefighter is desperate to show fans his full boxing arsenal after some accused his last win of being ‘rigged’.
Paul, 24, told SunSport: “I’ve said it, I wouldn’t mind going a couple rounds with this guy.
“To show my inside fighting, to show my work to the body, to show how I set shots up, to show my head movement, defence.
“To show that I can take a hit. I haven’t been able to show any of this, so I really wouldn’t mind it going a couple of rounds because then I think the boxing community will be like, ‘Oh, damn this kid can actually fight’.
“Even in the last fight, I knocked Ben Askren out, people were like, ‘There’s no way this is possible, it’s rigged’.
“Yeah, I want a challenge and I want a tough fight.”
Paul’s unbeaten start to his career has attracted as many critics as it has done supporters.
But now, signed to American network Showtime – where Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather both starred – he knows the lights have never been brighter.
Paul said: “I think there will be a very different audience tuning into this fight that will be more boxing-purist.
“And I think they’re going to be judging me, they’re going to be judging my skill, they’re going to be judging everything about the night.
“They’re going to be looking at everything and thinking, ‘Hey, should I like this kid or not?’
“Even in the last fight, I knocked Ben Askren out, people were like, ‘There’s no way this is possible, it’s rigged’.
Jake Paul
“So this is my make-or-break fight, the biggest moment of my life.
“This is my time to truly, truly shine and show off my boxing ability that I’ve worked so hard to grow and to gain.”
Despite Paul’s infancy in the sport, his career as an internet sensation with over 20MILLION subscribers leaves him the A-side attraction.
So much so, even British reality TV star Tommy Fury, brother to heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, is a feature on his undercard.
Fury, 22, who appeared on ITV’s hit show Love Island in 2019, faces Paul’s sparring partner Anthony Taylor, 32.
A win for the celebrity pair sets them up for an expected pay-per-view fight of their own.
But Paul insisted being the ‘boss’ at the negotiation table is no mental advantage and is instead just happy to use his platform to benefit boxing.
‘I’M A FIGHTER’
He said: “I mean, I guess I don’t know how they look at it. For me, I don’t think it makes a difference.
“I’m going in there like I’m fighting the best fighters in the world and they should be thinking the same thing.
“Just because I’m the boss, I don’t hold that against them.
“I want everyone to win here and at the end of the day, I want to change this sport and give fighters the biggest paydays of their lives.
“I think everyone on the card is getting the biggest paydays of their boxing careers. And so I’m for the fighters at the end of the day.
“There’s a lot of s*** talk and hoopla, but at the end of the day, I’m a fighter, so I’m for the fighters.”
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
