Jake Paul: ‘I’m the best thing that’s happened to boxing in a century’

The YouTuber faces Tyson Fury’s half-brother Tommy in December

YouTuber turned professional boxer Jake Paul has claimed he is “the best thing to happen to boxing in a century”.

The 24-year-old will face former Love Island contestant Tommy Fury in a cruiserweight bout in Tampa, Florida in December, having first entered the professional ranks at the end of 2019.

Paul’s decision to become a professional fighter followed his brother Logan’s scrap with rapper and Fifa gamer KSI in 2018, in a fight that was widely dubbed ‘the biggest event in internet history’.

Since then, the younger Paul has fought and won four professional bouts, against the likes of former NBA player Nate Robinson, ex-Bellator MMA champion Ben Askren, and former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Now he faces Fury, younger brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson.

“I’m the best thing that’s happened to boxing in a century, period,” Paul told Bleacher Report. “The legends would agree. The Anthony Joshuas, the Mike Tysons, the Manny Pacquiaos, the Tyson Furys. They’ve all said what I’m doing for boxing is a breath of fresh air.

“I think that debate started about a year ago – is Jake Paul good for boxing? I have silenced that, and I don’t think there’s anybody on the other side of the equation who thinks I’m bad for boxing.”

Despite the farcical nature of some of his fights, as well as brother Logan’s widely-derided bout with Floyd Mayweather earlier this year, the likes of Fury, Joshua, and Tyson have all praised both Pauls’ involvement in the sport.

“I think he’s a decent fighter for sure,” Fury said to TMZ Sports. “I’ve been pretty impressed with the Pauls, both of them to be fair.”

“[He’s] great for boxing,” Joshua told iFL TV, meanwhile. “Good luck to him, he’s trying. Zero amateur experience, throwing himself in the deep end. I guarantee you he’ll probably learn a lot more than a lot of fighters who are just half-hearted with it.

“Man is throwing himself in the deep end, putting himself under pressure. When you can deal with that amount of pressure, you have to get better at it. Good luck to him.”

Mike Tyson also praised the pair for the audience they have drawn in across the past two years.

“My reality is, they help boxing so much; boxing owes these YouTube boxers some kind of respect,” he said last year.

“They should give them some belts because these guys make boxing alive. Boxing was pretty much a dying sport, UFC was kicking our butt. Now we got these YouTube boxers, with 25 million views. Boxing is going back thanks to the YouTube boxers.”