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Kamaru Usman has revealed how much money it will take for him to fight Jake Paul in a boxing match.
Reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and YouTube megastar Jake Paul have been engaged in a war of words over the past few months. Their verbal back and forth escalated after Usman’s recent KO win over archrival Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 (April 2021).
An internet star and up-and-coming professional boxer, Jake Paul has challenged several top MMA fighters to face him in professional boxing matches.
Jake Paul (3-0; 3 knockouts) has faced one MMA fighter in the boxing ring thus far, namely Ben Askren, whom the former defeated via first-round TKO in April 2021.
In an interview with ESPN MMA, Kamaru Usman gave his thoughts on a potential boxing match against Jake Paul and stated:
“We’ve got this YouTube fighter running his mouth now – saying that he wants to box, he wants to test himself. I think that’s a guy that I can go out, and knock out really quickly, and make it home for dinner. So, I think that’s also an interesting one as well. So, I don’t know right now. It’s up to these guys to break through. It’s up to them to show me something and let me know that, ‘I’m the next guy. I’m the dangerous guy. Pay attention to me. You should be worried about me’. But right now, none of these guys I’m worried about. I think the YouTube guy right now is actually making more noise than all the other guys.”
When asked what makes a fight with Jake Paul appealing, other than the money, Usman said:
“I don’t necessarily care for the fight. I don’t care for it. I don’t really entertain it, honestly. But when, you see, there’s a lot of work that I put into my sport to get to the position that I’m in. And when you see these guys come in and just, ‘Oh, I wanna challenge him. I wanna challenge that guy, that guy’. It’s almost disrespectful. It’s almost disrespectful to the point where, like I said earlier, I’m also the judge. And sometimes, you might wanna go out, and send them a clear message, and give them a harsh punishment.”
Furthermore, when he was questioned about how much money it’d take for him to fight one of the YouTube crossover fighters like Jake Paul, Kamaru Usman stated:
“I think the check would have to have eight zeros in it. If there’s eight zeroes in front of the check, then for sure, we’d consider it. For sure.”
In a nutshell, Kamaru Usman suggested that he would consider fighting Jake Paul in a boxing match for the right amount of money.
Kamaru Usman criticized Jake Paul for his altercation with Daniel Cormier
Kamaru Usman also weighed in on the altercation between Jake Paul and MMA legend Daniel Cormier at UFC 261. Usman said:
“Yeah, that’s actually what made me pay attention – Because I didn’t pay attention before. It was just a regular guy, running his mouth and making a circus. But once he made the comments he made about DC. DC is not just one of the most respected guys in the sport, DC is also a good, close friend of mine, close friend. And once I saw that he made those comments, that’s when I took notice. And if I’m in a position to teach these guys a lesson, then absolutely – Because they’re about my weight."
He continued:
"So, if they ever wanted to fight, I would be the guy that they would have to fight because we’re in the same weight class. His brother (Logan Paul) is fighting Floyd (Mayweather). That doesn’t make sense because Floyd is giving up almost 50 pounds to these guys. I’m their weight. I’m that guy for them to pick on. I’m the guy that needs to discipline these guys. And if it makes sense, then of course, we’ll do it. But like I mentioned, it’s going to take a lot of zeroes to get me to get in there.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Prior to Kamaru Usman’s win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261, UFC president Dana White had confirmed that Colby Covington would get the next shot at the UFC welterweight title.
Nevertheless, the much-anticipated fight between Usman and Covington – a rematch of their classic encounter at UFC 245 (December 2019) – is yet to be officially confirmed.
