If there is one thing that Jake Paul has proven good great at in his nearly 27 years on this Earth, it's making money. He did it as a child star on Disney. He did it on YouTube. He's had a compelling documentary about himself that is on Netflix. He's done it in boxing, even though he's only taking his first baby steps in the business, and he seems poised to do it in mixed martial arts.
But as Paul prepares for his next fight, a bout against Andre August on Friday in Orlando, Fla., that will be streamed on DAZN, is Paul really just a boxer?
Paul still has his YouTube channel, which has over 20 million subscribers, and he posted to it as recently as Saturday. He's signed with the Professional Fighters League and he's spent much time in the last few months calling out ex-UFC star Nate Diaz for an MMA fight. PFL founder Donn Davis has helped him push that notion, saying publicly numerous times his company has a $15 million offer to Diaz to fight Paul in an MMA bout.
So Paul's plate is full, and that's hardly the extent of his business ventures. He's a rich young guy who is going to get much richer.
Part of the sell on Paul as a boxer has been how seriously he is taking his boxing training. He wasn't just interested in beating up fellow YouTubers or ex-NBA stars or even former MMA champions, the story went. He was serious about boxing and wanted to become a world champion.
And so nearly every time there's a promotion related to Friday's bout, the essence of it is, 'Hey, Jake's a boxer fighting a boxer! This is huge news!" The 35-year-old August is only the second pro boxer Paul has met in what will be his ninth pro bout. He's 0-1 against boxers, is 1-0 against YouTubers, 1-0 against former NBA players and is 5-0 against MMA fighters.
The fact that Paul lost to Tommy Fury doesn't speak well of Paul's long-term abilities as a boxer. But it's also not wise to write him off, because he's still very much in the infancy of his pro boxing career. He's got less than 10 bouts as a pro, and when you compare his level of opposition to most boxers with less than 10 pro fighters, Paul's stands up well. And this is not to forget the fact that Paul didn't have an amateur career, like the majority of these guys have had.
The problem is, however, is that boxing greatness is a full-time business. It's a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year proposition. Even then, there are no guarantees. To be great as a boxer, particularly starting in one's mid-20s, is extraordinarily difficult. It's made far more difficult when the boxer has so many other projects in his life and so many obligations.
When you're a multi-millionaire and you're making multiple millions a year, it's not like you just sit in the easy chair with your feet up watching television and occasionally checking the bank statement. There are meetings and conference calls and personal appearances and all sorts of things that eat up chunks of one's day. On top of that, Paul is running a fledgling boxing promotional business and he's learning how to box.
There aren't enough hours in a day and enough days in a year for him to get done what he wants.
Paul is an incredibly smart man, as he's proven by the way he's built his empire at this point. None of this happened by accident.
And so while he has spoken about fighting Canelo Alvarez and of becoming a world champion, it's important to realize it's all part of the sell. He shoots for the stars, markets it brilliantly, rakes in a lot of cash and when the till begins to run dry, he moves on to the next.
This fighting gimmick looks like it may last a while. And if he fights Diaz in MMA, not only will that give him a massive payday, but it will also buy him credibility from fans that he doesn't already own. It's one thing to box Diaz, who has had an epic MMA career but who isn't, after all, a boxer. It's another thing altogether entirely to step into an MMA cage with Diaz, even if Paul is significantly bigger and younger. The cage is Diaz's home, and Paul just having the courage to do it and face Diaz on his turf will make him an iconic figure to many.
And that will lead to more big paydays.
Paul's not a very good boxer now, but that's if you judge him by the best in the world. He is decent if you judge him by guys heading into their ninth pro fights with no amateur backgrounds.
He's outraged more than a few boxing fans who believe he's desecrated their beloved sport by facing a collection of non-boxers. They ignore the filth that is running unchecked in their sport, and about the numerous missed opportunities to build a viable business. They ignore the fact that Paul has shown boxing promoters how to sell a show and how to attract a fan base.
He may not be able to truly fight, but he's made more doing it than all but a handful of fighters in the world. The journey may end in the next year or two, but when it does, those who criticize are going to focus their anger elsewhere with no solutions in sight. As for Paul, he'll be on a beach in a remote part of the world counting his money and figuring out what's next.