Jake Paul claims that he's in talks with Conor McGregor to fight in a boxing match against him.
Paul made these claims in a recent interview with TMZ Sports following his recent match against NBA player Nate Robinson, as part of the undercard for Mike Tyson's fight against Roy Jones Jr.
In the interview in question, the YouTuber and influencer compared his follower count to some of the Irish fighter's recent opponents and suggested that McGregor fighting him would be a much bigger draw.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]
Paul stated:
"My team is talking to his manager, but that’s all I’ll say. No other fighter with this big of a platform is calling out McGregor. My dogs have more followers than the guy he’s fighting in January."
He continued:
"I’m gonna win, too! That’s what I want people to understand! I’m gonna dedicate my life to winning that fight because I’m not going in there just to say I did it - I’m going in there to f**k Conor McGregor up."
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inkiwj3as4E]]
It should be noted that Paul isn't being entirely truthful with the above statement. While Paul has a massive following on Instagram with 13.9 million followers, his dog Apollo has more than 11,000 followers.
Meanwhile, Dustin Poirier, McGregor’s next opponent, has 1.7 million Instagram followers.
[[instagramwidget||http://instagram.com/p/CILbT5EIdUJ/]]
Jake Paul previously spoke about his boxing and his desire to fight McGregor in a recent interview with BT Sport, stating:
"I'm taking this seriously. There’s a long list of opponents that I want. Conor McGregor, Dillon Danis, I’m going to knock them both out. There’s my brother, there’s KSI on the line, Austin McBroom. I want to be in this sport a long time. I'm in love with it, so why not."
[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA Images]]
However, Jake Paul's bouts have drawn some stern criticism from certain martial arts professionals. For instance, legendary women's boxer Amanda Serrano wrote on Twitter: "They need to STOP this Stupid Celebrity boxing thing. [sic]"
[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/CarterFilion/status/1332900176722157569]]
"Boxing is a serious game. Nothing to be doing for YouTube likes. Most amateurs turning pro fight 4 rds these guys debuting in a 6 rdr. Someone’s going to get really Hurt one day. Not cool at All [sic]"