Jake Paul told Piers Morgan Uncensored he’s put everything on the line to prove he can beat a professional boxer.
Speaking to TalkTV host Piers, the Youtuber-turned-boxer revealed: “It’s the UK versus the US. It’s the Furys versus the Pauls and I have to go out there and prove I can beat a professional boxer because that’s been the number one criticism of my career so far.”
But he said he was excited by the challenge, admitting: “I’m putting it all on the line – the bigger the risk the bigger the reward.”
Speaking ahead of his hotly-anticipated Saudi Arabia clash with Tommy Fury this Sunday, he joked with Piers: “I’ve seen you clown Tommy Fury, so please go easy on me!”
He went on to speak about being so rich, he had stopped counting his money and about how his rival Tommy Fury would soon be working as Cristiano Ronaldo’s masseuse. Plus he claimed he would beat his brother, and Conor McGregor in the ring if he ever faced them. Paul also said boxing was his passion and “saved” him after he grew tired of being a social media influencer on YouTube.
On how much both fighters had to lose going into Sunday’s clash, he confessed:
“I love it man, I love big moments, I love the high stakes. This is what I came into this sport to do, to put on big pay per views, big events. And I’m putting it all on the line – the bigger the risk the bigger the reward. Like you said, it’s the UK versus the US. It’s the Furys versus the Pauls and I have to go out there and prove I can beat a professional boxer because that’s been the number one criticism of my career, so far. So I’m super excited about this.”
Asked how much money he has made, he laughed he had lost count:
“A lot, a lot. It gets to a point where you make so much, you don’t even count it any more. So yeah, I don’t really know.”
He continued: “I promise you Piers Morgan, I have no idea. I make money in lump sums, residuals, investments, equity, exits of companies. So the net worth is always going up and down, you are moving with the markets and such. I mean it when I say, you stop paying attention at some point. To me the money is great, but I really love boxing and this is what I was put on earth to do.
“When I first started out, I wasn’t getting paid like I am getting paid now to box all these guys. This is as of two, three years ago…
“I would be doing this regardless of the money.”
On why he wanted to go into boxing, he explained:
“It was the routine and the discipline, the passion, the challenge. I wasn’t challenged any more on Youtube. I set a goal to become the biggest daily vlogger on Youtube. I accomplished that goal, I was getting 15 million views a day and I was tired of it. I wasn’t creatively expressing myself. I wanted to move on to the next thing. Youtube was banning everyone off their platforms, if you swear and all types of crazy new rules and limitations and I saw that as a dead end. During that time, I stumbled across boxing and it took me back to my roots. Don’t forget I was a state wrestler, a state lacrosse player, a state football player. So I really got back to my first dream, which was to be a professional athlete.
“And everything clicked when I got into that boxing gym, I finally felt at home. I was able to mature through that process and figure out who I truly was as a man. So I needed boxing and it sounds like the typical boxing story, but that’s why there are so many movies about it, man!”
He concluded: “The boxing world, and all of that, saved me, for sure.”
On the sport being deadly serious once you are in the ring, he confessed:
“No, it’s [the] facts man. We don’t take that lightly. I know how serious of a sport this is. I know it’s the hardest sport in the world. I know it’s the hardest thing that I’ve ever done but something about that makes me rise to the occasion. Like you said, they are polar opposites. Waking up as a Youtuber every day and just wake up and do whatever you do… This is a set regiment with the team, day in and day out. It’s very professional and very difficult but man, I’m just obsessed with it.”
Asked why he calls out famous fighters, like Conor McGregor, he said:
“No, man. It’s because I really want to fight them. When I first called these people out everyone thought I was crazy… They didn’t think that was actually possible for these fights to happen. In less than three years, I’ve taken on some of the biggest names in the sport. Some combat sports legends.”
He added: “To me I always saw the vision. I always saw the game plan. I always knew what I was capable of and I think at some points I was biting off more than I could chew with calling out these guys. But my skill has quickly caught up to be able to actually go in there and actually beat some of these guys and I think it’s to a point now. When I called out Conor McGregor people thought I was crazy, and now I guarantee you he won’t ever box me because I could beat him and he knows that… If I could beat Anderson Silva who was bigger, stronger, faster, better striker, than a smaller guy, Conor McGregor is not going to want to fight me.”
Piers asked, “Have you got any doubt in your head right now you will win and win by knockout?” He replied:
“No I don’t. I’m confident in my preparation. Anything can happen in a boxing match but you work to make those things not happen and he just doesn’t have the power, the capabilities to do anything to be able to defeat me and that’s why I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is because talk is cheap and that’s why I’m putting it all on the line on Sunday night. You’re going to see me knock this guy out.”
On whether he would you ever fight his brother, he confessed:
“I don’t know, it depends what day you ask me. I don’t know if it’ll ever happen… we could fantasise about it but who knows. It could be really interesting. I would win. I would win, and that’s the tough part is, if he’s ok with being the older brother that loses… I just don’t know if he’s doing to be okay with that.”
Speaking about how he started his career, after he and his brother had being given a video camera by his parents, he confessed he would not have predicted his future, saying:
“Definitely not my friend, this whole journey has been completely surreal to me it still doesn’t make any sense. I feel like I’m living in a dream on a day to day basis. But we just have these imaginations and we are super creative and we are willing to put in the work to achieve our dreams and achieve our goals. But it is part of my inspiration of what drives me every single day is to prove to other 10 and 12 year olds out there that if you start something, if you create a hobby for yourself, if you work hard – you can come from a small town like me and you can really make big things happen in life.”
On whether he had a plan from the start or whether it was an accidental journey, he replied:
“At first it was sort of a whirlwind and we were taking it day by day, video by video. But when we started to make serious money, when we were 16-17 years old, we realised this could be a legitimate business.”
He added his parents supported them moving to LA to collaborate with other influencers and learn about the industry.
“The choice we made was to go to LA, and our parents supported us in that decision. There we were months later 17 and 19 years old in Los Angeles… I had no idea what I was getting myself into but just showed up every single day and went on tons and tons of auditions and kept on making videos and before you know it I booked a role on the Disney channel and the videos kept going viral and one thing led to another.”
Piers also joked with him that he could still beat his own brothers at arm wrestling and said he would help him gain a few more Twitter followers too.
Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on TalkTV at 8pm. Available on Sky 522, Sky Glass 508, Virgin Media 606, Freeview 237 and Freesat 217 as well as on DAB, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung TV Plus, YouTube, the Talk.TV website and TalkTV iOS and Android apps.
You can also listen to the Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury fight live and for free this Sunday night, on the world’s biggest sports radio station, talkSPORT. Listen on DAB, download the app or via talkSPORT.com