Jake Paul’s penchant for stealing the spotlight has cast a shadow on his older brother’s upcoming boxing match with Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, turning an otherwise lighthearted event into an all-too personal affair.
Ever since British influencers KSI and Joe Weller touched gloves in 2018, YouTube boxing has been on an unexpected come-up. The KSI vs Logan Paul match shortly thereafter cemented the phenomenon as a popcorn-worthy spectacle where hardcore boxing fans and casual enthusiasts alike can watch their favorite (or least favorite) social media stars duke it out to settle their differences in the ring.
It seems that the self-described “Problem Child,” Jake Paul, has taken this anomaly to another level. Upon defeating fellow YouTuber Deji Olatunji in 2018, the youngest Paul brother has made it his mission to become a major boxer in his own right and already boasts a sufficient 3-0 pro record.
However, many critics have noticed that YouTube’s prime boxer has yet to face off with an actual boxer. So far, Jake has managed to take down two influencers, a former NBA player, and a retired MMA fighter — and while Jake himself has argued that he’s only on his third pro bout, that isn’t stopping viewers from acknowledging that boxers generally take on other boxers from the get-go.
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Jake Paul is employing a teeth-grindingly genius strategy to boost his victories, affording him both money and experience while avoiding potential losses. It’s maddeningly shrewd, and he knows it… but that isn’t stopping him from taunting some of the biggest names in the business.
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On May 6, Jake Paul made a point to rile up Floyd Mayweather just after his press conference with Logan Paul. The Team 10 founder got right up in the 50-0 champion’s face before stealing his hat and disappearing into the crowd, prompting Mayweather to give chase in a brawl that has made headlines in every major news publication on the net.
"Got your hat!"
Floyd Mayweather & Jake Paul got into a scuffle at the #MayweatherPaul press conference 🤯pic.twitter.com/uFEueh6FWk
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 6, 2021
Jake has made no qualms about capitalizing off the scuffle, either, pushing a line of merchandise emblazoned with the slogan “Gotcha hat” and even getting the phrase tattooed on his body.
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Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Logan and Mayweather are all too pleased with how things went down. Footage taken of Logan amidst the scuffle shows the elder Paul brother exasperatedly saying, “What the *** did he do, bro?” while Mayweather promised to “Kill that mother****er!” after being separated from the crowd.
WILD 🤯🤯🤯🤯#MayweatherPaul pic.twitter.com/dd787brfm8
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) May 6, 2021
All in all, some fans can’t help but feel that Paul’s stunt with Mayweather has overshadowed the press conference and is ultimately still overshadowing the upcoming fight. Many viewers are too focused on the “Problem Child’s” bombastic theft of a spotlight that was meant for Logan to even consider how Logan probably feels.
Logan has published a statement on the matter that sums things up quite poignantly:
“It’s not funny. I wish it was staged. I ****ing wish that wasn’t real. That **** isn’t funny and it’s not fun for anyone. It got personal by default. It was supposed to be a cute little press conference. Get people excited for the fight. Not people talking about killing other people. What the ****? My message to Floyd is this… we’re gonna get you that hat back.”
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While Logan and Mayweather traded verbal blows that definitely hit below the belt (Logan mentioning allegations of domestic abuse against Mayweather, while Mayweather was happy to bring up Logan’s infamous Aokigahara forest incident), it wasn’t supposed to turn out the way it did. Jake Paul clearly felt the need to become the man of the hour in an event that wasn’t even meant for him, effectively robbing his brother of an exciting and unexpected matchup to create an even more intriguing potential fight between himself and Mayweather down the road.