Jake Paul reiterated his intention to become a world champion in the boxing industry as his fight against professional boxer Andre August nears. Despite the opponent’s advantage in terms of experience, Paul believes he has the athleticism to aid him in the bout.
The two will face on December 15 at Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando. The bout should be a huge challenge for Paul, who is trying to underscore how his opponent is an actual pro. Despite that, the YouTuber wants to view August’s advantage just as a matter of experience, explaining he has more strength, fitness, and agility than almost any boxer in the field.
“I think I could do it quickly because of my focus, my dedication, and my athleticism,” Paul said. “It turns out I’m more athletic than 99.9 percent of boxers in terms of running, jumping, weight lifting, squatting, punching power. But, what I don’t have that they have is the decades of experience.
“So, I’m on like this crash course to get all of those things, but it’s backed by this extreme athleticism. No boxer that has ever come to camp has beaten me in a jog, beaten me in a sprint, beaten me on the bench press, beaten me on the squats. So, that I have to my advantage, and I think I can get there in two to three years.”
The fight should help “The Problem Child” validate his claim to become a professional boxer, but some doubt Paul’s choice. As commentator Sergio Mora suggested, despite August’s records and years of experience, the fighter could be an easy opponent for Paul.
“Seems like another Tommy Fury type opponent, who [Paul] lost a SD to,” Mora told The Los Angeles Times earlier this month. “But yes, this man is technically a pro boxer and I will have to give [Paul] his credit.”
“I’ll tell you what, I give credit to Paul and the team that he surrounds himself with — because it’s so damn HARD to comb the nation to find opponents like this August guy that looks good on paper, but is a ‘paper fighter.’ … He looks every part the fighter, but look into the numbers and you’ll see he hasn’t fought in 4 yrs and has fought nothing but ‘non winners.’”
Despite the doubts, Paul is determined to prove to his critics that he’s serious about becoming a world champion someday. According to the fighter, facing a pro boxer like August is the first step to his plan’s realization.
“This is my road to becoming a world champion,” Paul told MMA Junkie in an interview. “When I’ve said that and uttered those words, I think people took it as a joke or, ‘He’s just saying that to market himself or make himself a bigger fighter or ruffle feathers and get media headlines and stuff,’ but they didn’t actually think I was being serious. I’m dead serious. That is what I’m going to do and this is the step in that direction.”
