CLEVELAND — After first fighting a former NBA guard in Nate Robinson and a former MMA star in Ben Askren, Jake Paul knows that his next opponent, former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, will be a step up in competition.
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"He’s a 5-time UFC champion," Paul told 3News' Stephanie Haney on the "3 Things to Know" podcast. "He has knockout power. He’s been boxing for longer than I have. He was winning championships with his fists while I was on Disney Channel doing the Mickey Mouse ears thing. He’s a tough guy and I know that."
Yet, when asked if he had a final message for Woodley ahead of their fight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Aug. 29, the 24-year-old Westlake native didn't hold back.
“Hey pal, I hope you’re doing great, man," Paul said with a condescending smile. "I hope you’re enjoying these moments of being healthy and not unconscious. Really take your consciousness and be grateful for it."
"Consciousness" won't be the only thing on the line on Sunday, as the loser of Sunday's fight between Paul and Woodley will have to get the winner's name tattooed on his body. If Paul wins, Woodley will have to get an "I love Jake Paul" tattoo, while a Woodley victory would result in Paul getting an "I love Tyron Woodley tattoo."
Beyond the ink, Sunday's fight marks Paul's next opportunity to gain further legitimacy in a sport in which he's largely viewed as an outsider. Win or lose, however, he knows that if nothing else, he will have brought more eyeballs to boxing.
"I have however many followers, millions of followers and they followed me for social media, for YouTube videos, for Disney, for music, all the things I was doing before and now I’m showing them boxing and they’re rooting for me and I think they’re becoming fans of boxing," he said. "I see it more and more, bringing new young eyeballs to the sport is something I’m super passionate about. I want to grow the sport. I want it to become the No. 1, if not the No. 2 sport in the world. I think boxing has the potential in the next couple of years to overtake football, to overtake basketball, to overtake MMA, so I’m trying to spearhead that movement.”
You can watch Paul's full appearance on the "3 Things to Know" podcast below.