Who will Jake Paul fight next? Picture: Jake Paul Instagram
Jake Paul knocked out Ben Askren with a vicious overhand right at the end of round 1 in the highly anticipated boxing match-up leaving everyone wondering, who will Jake Paul fight next?
MMA Fighting estimated that over a million people bought the Thriller fight Club PPV, in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday night (US time), with the outlet also reporting this could be the most pirated boxing event of all-time.
Paul was in a different class to the former Olympian and MMA world champion Askren, Not only were the YouTuber’s boxing skills superior but his physical conditioning and mindset to win was on another level to the recently retired 36-year-old.
Askren carried himself into the fight like he had nothing to lose and was happy to pick up a paycheck. Paul was more serious on what was on the line and this showed with his performance.
The 24-year-old Paul continues to knock out his selected opponents. The man known as ‘The Problem Child’ now has an undefeated professional boxing record of (3-0). With 3 KOs against another YouTuber âAnEnsonGibâ, former NBA star Nate Robinson and now Askren.Â
Paul claims that the fight made 1.5 million PPV buys in his recent social media post. If these numbers are legitimate it makes it one of the best selling boxing PPVs of all-time, overtaking legendary boxing bouts Evander Holyfield v George Foreman in 1991 and Floyd Mayweather v Shane Mosley in 2010.Â
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The sport of boxing was not the main attraction of the spectacle in Atlanta on Saturday night. Triller did not go cheap with their budgeting. Casting comedian-host Pete Davidson, music superstars Justin Bieber and Doja Cat. There were also legends Snoop Dogg and Oscar De La Hoya on the commentary team.Â
There was plenty of weed, alcohol and possibly other substances being consumed by the commentary team. The Triller card had more of a party vibe with plenty of twerking and joking around going on.
Triller didn’t want to make this a traditional boxing broadcast and they succeeded – for better or for worse.
Who will Jake Paul fight next?
The world is awaiting Jake Paulâs next moves, or more specifically, who will Jake Paul fight next?
Whether you hate him or love him, there’s no denying the 24-year-old YouTuber is a superstar and it’s a fight that everyone from retired MMA fighters to in their prime boxers currently crave.Â
Paul since Saturdayâs fight has called out UFCâs Dustin Poirier, Nate Diaz and the recently retired Daniel Cormier.Â
This can either be seen as insanity or brilliance. Paulâs aim at the UFC is creating a lot of drama and is a tactical move. Major media publications such as ESPN and the Rolling Stone are talking about him. Paul is having the same media coverage as a high – level athlete and his beef towards the MMA community is a factor of this.Â
Whether you hate him or love him, there’s no denying the 24-year-old YouTuber is a superstar and it’s a fight that everyone from retired MMA fighters to in their prime boxers currently crave
Bellatorâs Dillon Danis and nemesis of Paul has called him out in a tweet âlet me save the MMA communityâ. Danis was the preferred match up for Paul, but a knee surgery kept him from competing.
Both Paul and Danis are young, popular and masters of trash talking. This could be the most appealing fight going forward. With a potential win over Danis can lead to a potential fight with Paulâs most desired opponent; Conor McGregor.
However, Paul has plenty of interest and can make his own moves. Paul is his own promoter and with a devastating win over Askren has plenty of opportunity.
Pundits now want him to fight a professional boxer, with ESPN commentator Stephen A Smith tweeting that “Paul needs to fight an actual boxer.”
UFCâs Sean âSugaâ O Malley disagreed, also tweeting: âJakes 3-0 selling out huge PPVs, thatâs insane, his got to keep building slowly and not jump into the best guy. He just needs to keep getting better and better and have these super fightsâ.Â
Paul has made the correct choices in opponents of each of his fights so far and will likely only choose fights that make sense financially and at his skill-level.
2021 is not a normal year in combat sports. The business model is changing as celebrities such as Paul can gravitate a large audience and pay day in the sport. These trend setting actions made by Paul are being watched by fighters in all combat sports with financial and freedom of choice being issues for a lot of these athletes.Â
Iâm sure we will hear something from the polarising Paul soon. The trash talker and social media villain is taking boxing seriously and is not slowing down.
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