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Demetrious Johnson questioned Jake Paul’s most recent boxing opponents.
In January 2020, Paul secured a first-round knockout win against AnEsonGib to launch his professional boxing career. ‘The Problem Child’ went on to have his hand raised five more times against retired MMA fighters and Nate Robinson before suffering a split-decision defeat against Tommy Fury.
Paul bounced back from his lone loss by taking out Nate Diaz by unanimous decision. Since then, the YouTuber-turned-boxer has taken a different approach to his fighting career by securing back-to-back first-round knockouts against low-level professional boxers Andre August and Ryan Bourland.
On Saturday night, Paul overwhelmed Bourland to continue building momentum with another finish. ‘The Problem Child’ received mixed reactions to his latest win, including MMA legend Demetrious Johnson saying this on his YouTube channel:
“[Jake Paul] is evolving, don’t get me wrong. He is evolving, but what are you doing when you’re fighting these guys you find off the street. Like I said before, when he fought Andre August, the gentleman was running pizza routes. Go find somebody who is 25, 26 years old, who Eddie Hearn or somebody can find that’s in the gym, that’s grinding, that’s hungry. Put yourself in the fire. Put yourself against top-level competition to build your credibility.”
Watch Paul knock out Bourland below:
Demetrious Johnson claims Jake Paul’s last two wins weren’t professional fights
Jake Paul’s last two opponents have more boxing experience on paper than the MMA fighters he defeated earlier in his career. With that said, Andre August and Ryan Bourland failed to test Paul during their one-round fights, leading to fans questioning their skill level.
During the previously-mentioned YouTube video, Demetrious Johnson labeled Paul’s latest wins as non-professional fights:
“Ladies and gentlemen, there is a difference between a professional boxer, a professional athlete, and an amateur. These fights that Jake Paul are doing, the fights that he did against Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz, Tommy Fury, I don’t know if him and Tommy Fury have fought, I don’t know, I can’t keep track, he fights all of these random guys, but those fights he fought against professional athletes. Now against Andre August, against Ryan [Bourland], and the basketball player he fought at the beginning, those aren’t professional fights.”
Jake Paul has fought four times in the last 13 months. It’s unclear when and who he will fight next, but the YouTuber-turned-boxer claimed he’s serious about becoming a world champion in the next few years.
Watch Johnson discuss Paul's boxing opponents below:
