Jake Paul has come full circle.
The YouTube megastar-turned-boxer squares off with former UFC legend Anderson Silva in a boxing fight Saturday night (9 p.m., Showtime PPV) at Diamond Desert Arena in Glendale, Ariz. In the lead-up to the bout, the two have shared amicable press conferences and exchanges, a sharp departure from the provocativeness Paul usually operates with against foes.
It’s clear the two share great respect for one another, and the 25-year-old Paul has kept his trademark trash talk and personal insults largely to a minimum with the 47-year-old Silva.
Growing up in Ohio, Paul was a huge UFC and Silva fan. Paul and his brother, fellow YouTube star Logan, as kids were able to meet Silva when he fought locally, and took a picture together that Paul has re-posted ahead of the fight. In his caption, Paul said Silva was the only celebrity he had met before he moved to Los Angeles.
“It’s crazy,” Paul told The Post ahead of the bout. “I think it started to set in after we faced off [for the first time], and then I came back to the green room and I was sort of just sitting back here and I was like ‘It’s so weird to be me right now. This feels like a movie.’ You couldn’t write this in a movie. Kid meets guy and does all these things, becomes famous in Hollywood, becomes a boxer and then fights idol, a writer couldn’t have even thought of that, so it’s felt like a movie.”
That move from Ohio to Hollywood brought Paul rapid fame as a creator on Vine and YouTube, and he briefly starred on Disney’s “Bizaardvark” TV series. Currently, he touts over 20 million subscribers on YouTube and 21 million followers on Instagram. He’s founded his own promotional company, Most Valuable Promotions, and his own betting company, Betr.
And most notably, he’s used his platform to launch his boxing career. At 5-0, he’s defeated fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib, ex-NBA player Nate Robinson and former UFC stars Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley (twice). This time around, Paul had looked to secure a bout with an actual professional boxer, to prove that he belongs at this stage.
He had agreed to fights with both Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr., but those opponents had travel and weight complications, respectively. That landed him on Silva and his childhood idol, but perhaps farther away from his desire.
While not a traditional boxer, Silva was long-known for his punching and striking acumen, and launched his own boxing endeavor since retiring from the UFC. He’s 3-1 in the boxing ring, and beat former three-division boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez last year. It followed a 32-11 UFC career, where he held the longest reign as champion in the promotion’s history.
“I don’t know if he gets me closer to that goal [of fighting a traditional boxer]. I think the first pro boxer that I go up against will have a ton of pressure on them, and I think that’s why they always pull out,” Paul said. “Once I beat Anderson Silva, I think it actually makes it harder for me to make a fight with a pro boxer, because they’ll be like ‘Damn, he just beat this guy who’s amazing at striking, who beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’ and the more people I knockout, the hardest it is to make these fights.
“Yeah, it kinda sucks [not securing the Fury and Rahman Jr. fights]. But I tried, I tried to get the pro boxer in there multiple times, and they always had excuses. Maybe that comes in the future, but for right now I have Anderson Silva, who beat a former world champion pro boxer in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and made the fight look easy. Dana White calls him the GOAT of combat sports and he’s known for his striking, he’s known for his knockouts. Anderson Silva would beat 99 percent of pro boxers.”
Paul’s achievements in the ring have inspired other YouTubers, TikTokkers and influencers to try their hand at boxing and put on bouts that have a proven interest and audience. On Saturday’s card, Paul will be joined by Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, better known as Dr. Mike, a medical influencer with over 10 million YouTube subscribers and People’s 2015 Sexiest Doctor Alive. He challenges ex-UFC fighter Chris Avila. Likewise, ex-NFL player Le-Veon Bell is challenging ex-UFC fighter Uriah Hall.
“It started with me vs. Nate Robinson and I think people have just followed that mold since then because it was just such an interesting matchup,” Paul said. “This is what boxing needs. The sport needs interesting matchups, they need big names to come in, and the fights are super entertaining. Le’Veon Bell gave you a knockout, he actually looked really good in the ring.
“It’s all growing the sport, and I’m glad I can just do a part and have a part in that. And this is just the start of what’s to come. I think there’s gonna be so many more matchups and so many more people interested in boxing and so many more trying their hand at boxing.”