Jake Paul has taken the boxing world by storm, and will face Hasim Rahman Jr. – the son of the former Heavyweight Champion known best for knocking out Lennox Lewis and/or taking a headbutt from Evander Holyfield – on August 6 at Madison Square Garden.
This will be Paul’s sixth career fight, on a Showtime PPV event, and quite a step up in competition.
“I just wanted to challenge myself and I’m doing that; no boxer has ever taken this big of a risk in the history of boxing,” Paul told Carton & Roberts on WFAN Tuesday. “For me, I’m taking a huge risk fighting a guy who’s bigger than me, 12-1 as a professional with 100 amateur fights.”
Paul knows he’s definitely the underdog, given his first five fights were against four debuting boxers - a fellow YouTube star, ex-Knick Nate Robinson, and two former MMA fighters - and a rematch with former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley, who took Paul the distance in their first match before losing via decision.
“Four years ago I was on Disney Channel acting and playing with Mickey Mouse, and (Rahman Jr.) was a professional fighter,” Paul said. “He's 31 and in his prime, so everything about this is as serious as it gets.”
All that said, though, don’t call Paul a “celebrity” boxer – this is his passion, and this is his profession.
“I’m a professional boxer, no matter how you slice it; I’ve knocked out UFC Champions and superior athletes, and this is the start of a long professional career,” Paul said. “I’m confident in my training and the hours I’ve put in over the last couple years, and I plan on becoming light heavyweight champion of the world one day.”
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He’s fought a basketball player and an MMA fighter, but there’s one more of the latter that everyone would love to see face Paul: Conor McGregor, who made his boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather and has taken verbal shots at Paul in the past. So will it happen?
“If he’s not scared, I’m ready whenever, but he has his boss, Dana White, who’s in control so he can’t make his own decisions,” Paul said. “Even if he wanted to fight me, Dana would have to approve it, so we’ll see what happens. But I think after I knock out Hasim Rahman Jr., Conor will say, ‘hey, this kid can really fight,’ and that may scare him away from fighting me.”
Oh, and speaking of “combat sports,” Jake’s brother, Logan, is headed back to WWE, signed to a deal by the global sports-entertainment giant and scheduled to face The Miz – who he teamed with at WrestleMania 38 back in April – in a feature bout at SummerSlam on July 30.
Could we ever see the Paul Brothers together in the WWE ring?
“Maybe someday, I just can’t get injured right now going off the top rope,” he joked. “But that could be interesting. I think we should become the WWE Tag Team Champions, I don’t think anyone can beat us!”
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