It's hard to know what to make of Jake Paul as a boxer. As a businessman, he's got the Midas touch and he has a sixth sense when it comes to selling, promoting, marketing and making money. He's top of the heap. Many of the top stars in boxing could stand to learn a lesson or 10 from him about selling themselves and the sport.
As a boxer, though, well, let's defer judgement.
Paul knocked out Andre August on Friday in Orlando, Fla., in a bout streamed on DAZN with one of the prettiest uppercuts you'll ever see. Paul threw a glove-splitting jab that landed squarely on August's face, and followed it with a blistering right uppercut. Referee Chris Young reached the count of 10 and Paul had what might be regarded as the biggest win of his career.
It was over at 2:32 and left Paul effusive.
"I said first-round knockout all week," said Paul, who improved his record to 8-1 with his fifth knockout.
He did what he said he was going to do and he looked good in doing it. The problem with evaluating him was not anything he did, or didn't do; rather, it was the guy standing across from him.
It was obvious from the moment that the fight was signed that August wasn't expected to win, and he was tight in the locker room before the fight. Title prospects face these kinds of fighters on the way up. Paul has mostly feasted on MMA fighters in his brief pro run, though there was a YouTuber and an ex-NBA star in there, as well.
August provided zero opposition and looked from the moment he climbed into the ring like he wished he could have been anywhere else but standing across from Paul. He was clearly overwhelmed by the moment and wasn't skillful enough to ever provide Paul a challenge.
So that makes it tough to figure where he stands. Paul, of course, has a chip on his shoulder because he's come under criticism in many corners and wants to get some love from the critics.
"If I was walking on water in front of everybody's eyes, they would say I couldn't swim," Paul said. "When you take this path, and you're in the top of a sport, and you got there in three-and-a-half years with the jealousy and hate and insecure people, all the time, of course, they're going to critique and find any little thing that they can to try to bring me down. But what they don't know is that it's just making me bigger, just making me stronger, just making me more motivated to go ahead and become world champion. This is one step closer. This guy was 10-1 [and] boxing his whole life."
Paul came in superb shape, much thicker and more muscled than he'd been previously. And he did nothing wrong during the bout. He got hit with six of the 10 punches that August threw, and while some may downgrade him for that, it probably wasn't a lack of defensive skill that led to him being hit at a 60-percent rate. Rather, he knew from the moment it started that August wasn't a true threat, and he went out and walked right through him, like he should have done.
His jab was crisp and the uppercut couldn't have been better.
He spoke at length after the fight about winning a world title and while nothing he did on Friday moved him closer to that, it's also true that nothing he did on Friday moved him further from that goal.
The key for him, like it is with any talented, ambitious prospect, is to remain active, keep increasing the level of opposition and work on adding elements to his game.
Paul has legitimate people around him and, by all accounts, has been working hard behind closed doors. But there are thousands of fighters in the world and even with the proliferation of belts that makes it much easier to call ones self a champion, only a tiny handful ever reach that level.
But Paul is making progress, and that's what should be expected of an 8-1 prospect.
"I wish I could summarize that, man," Paul said when asked the biggest thing he's learned from boxing. "It's been thousands of hours in the gym, but I think more so just believing in myself and my ability, having fun out there, and surrounding myself with the right student. When Thurman, Jalion, and Larry Wade came in, the whole attitude changed and they pushed me so much harder than I'd ever been pushed before. And that was really the difference maker.
"And really my boxing career didn't start until after I lost because they came in, corrected my basic fundamentals that I had skipped by due to other coaches skipping by it and they pushed me, did thousands of drills on my footwork every single day, getting my mind right, surrounding myself with amazing people, and that really is what elevated everything. So, I just owe it to everyone else, you know, and the people around me, pushing me and wanting the best way."
Paul lost to Tommy Fury, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury's brother, in a dreadful fight in February. Nearly 10 months later, he looked vastly different and is clearly much more polished.
It's too early to tag him as a champion, even though he's already a star.
If he legitimately wins a world title, it will be, as he said in the ring afterward, one of the biggest stories in sports.
It's no sure thing, but Jake Paul is, at the least, making progress toward his goal.