Opinion: YouTube celebrity Jake Paul is making things tough for his haters after latest win
This is going to be painful for the Jake Paul haters.
But let’s start with the good news: You don’t have to love the 24-year-old YouTube celebrity.
Heck, you don’t have to even like him.
You certainly don’t have to admire him, root for him, or, heaven forbid, invite him over for dinner.
But you do have to respect him as a professional boxer.
He earned that Sunday night.
By his own admission, Paul can be obnoxious, loud and polarizing. Not to mention rude, offensive and irritating. But all of that felt irrelevant Sunday night while watching Paul in the boxing ring at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
He absorbed some thunderous punches from Tyron Woodley, the former UFC champion. He blasted Woodley with powerful punches of his own. And in front of a sellout crowd of 16,000, Paul showed resilience, courage and skill in a split-decision victory.
He improved to 4-0, this time against a worthy opponent – and that worthy opponent helped Paul earn new respect.
You might have giggled when you heard that in Paul’s first pro fight he won by TKO against a fellow YouTuber celebrity who goes by name AnEsonGib, which spelled backwards is "big nose na" and a tribute to his big schnoz.
You might have dismissed the outcome of Paul’s second fight – a knockout of retired NBA player Nate Robinson, who looked cartoonishly out of control in the ring.
You might have rolled your eyes after Paul’s next fight, when retired MMA fighter Ben Askren climbed up looking very retired and very flabby and got knocked out by Paul in the first round.
But Sunday? This was different. Very different.
Woodley is 39 and lost his last four UFC fights before the organization let his contract expire. But when he climbed into the ring to face Paul, it was a turn-back-the-clock moment. Physically, he resembled the man who won the UFC welterweight title in 2016.
“Look at him," Paul said after the fight. “He’s jacked as (expletive)."
OK, Jake Paul haters, let’s address the lingering issue: Woodley was making his pro boxing debut and Paul has yet to face a trained boxer.
That is not a justification to deny the YouTuber respect for his fighting ability.
Though Woodley looked awkward in the early rounds, he eventually found his range. And in the fourth round, he clocked Paul with an overhand right. It landed so hard, Paul might have temporarily forgotten his YouTube account password.
Paul fell into the ropes, which seemed to be the only thing that kept him from hitting the canvas.
“That’s the first time I took a real shot with 10-ounce gloves in four fights," Paul said. “I ate it. It was a good shot. This is boxing. If you’re a mechanic, you’re going to get dirty. But I proved I have a chin."
His legs looked wobbly. He looked out of breath. And yet he gave Woodley a crazed-eye look and kept on fighting.
“I like that I got hit," Paul said. “I licked my gloves after that (expletive), Let’s go."
And so they went, battling for eight rounds – six rounds beyond what Paul had needed to finish any of his first three fights during a pro career that began in January 2020.
At times, he looked fatigued. But Paul still landed 71 punches compared to 52 punches landed by Woodley, according to Showtime, which broadcast the pay-per-view fight.
Not long after the fight ended, reporters were quizzing Paul on who he might fight next. A trained boxer like Tommy Fury? A rematch with Woodley? Conor McGregor?
“I’ve been boxing for 18 months now," he said. “I haven’t been to the dentist. I have barely got my haircut in like two years. My teeth are all crooked. My nose is crooked. I’ve dedicated my past 18 months to this. I haven’t stopped.
“I think I might have to chill out for a second."
He’s earned that – even more than he’s earned your respect.