Jake Paul has been called a lot of things — a YouTuber, an influencer, an internet troll, content creator, you name it.
Those names continued to fly his way on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. But he also took perhaps the biggest step of his career toward putting all those to bed.
The 25-year-old squared off with Hasim Rahman Jr. during the introductory press conference for their Aug. 6 fight at The Garden. For the first time in his newfound career, there was a professional boxer lined up across from him.
Paul (5-0), the YouTuber-turned-boxer with over 20 million Instagram followers, looks to prove his legitimate place as a real boxer. He previously fought, and beat, internet influencer Ali Eson Gib, former Knick Nate Robinson and former UFC stars Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, prompting wide-scale criticism and challenges to fight an actual professional boxer and prove himself against legitimate competition in the sport. Rahman Jr. provides that opportunity.
“I think it just puts my money where my mouth is,” Paul told The Post. “I’m stepping up to the plate. I talk a lot of s–t, but I back it up. This is a massive risk, no boxer has ever taken this big of a risk this early on in their career. I’m changing the sport forever.”
The animosity between the two was palpable, and at times they spent minutes at a time shouting over each other as MC Ariel Helwani tried to interject. Rahman Jr. (12-1), the son of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, went face-to-face with Paul, promising a rude awakening as Paul finally faced a boxer inside the ring.
“Who have you beat?” both Rahman Jr. and his father, who was by his side, kept repeating.
“That’s what you’re for,” Paul responded over and over. “You’re just the next one up.”
“I’m turning this into the Hasim Rahman Jr. show,” Rahman Jr. said afterward. “It’s not his show. It’s my show. And the fight’s gonna go the same way. Whatever he tries, I’m not gonna let him do. It’s what I do. This is my fight.”
Rahman Jr. provides the biggest test for Paul inside the ring by a wide margin. He’s bigger and far more experienced as a boxer than anyone Paul has fought, and carries a historic legacy. It’s also the biggest stage Paul has fought on, headlining on Showtime PPV at the mecca of boxing.
“I was always ready. I’ve been sparring professional boxers since Day 1. It just so happened that the people I was going up against had bigger names in the MMA world, so a lot of them ended up being the MMA guys,” Paul said. “But I was always ready to fight these professional boxers. I’ve been proving that.
“Tommy Fury just pulled out the first time we were trying to fight so I fought Tyron again, and now, Hasim Rahman Jr., 12-1, heavyweight, bigger than me, I’m not afraid of anyone. And people are calling me crazy, my own manager, my own brothers, like ‘Hey, why are you going to do this, the risk isn’t worth the reward.’ But for me it is. And I’m gonna put on a superstar performance and earn the respect of a lot of people for what I’m doing here.”