Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-pugilist, has once again stoked the flames of his ongoing feud with UFC’s Paddy Pimblett and former middleweight champ Sean Strickland. Known as ‘The Problem Child,’ Paul has been exchanging heated words with Pimblett on social media for some time now.
In a bold move last year, the brash American challenged the Liverpudlian to outbox him in a sparring match, offering up $1 million for Pimblett to face him. The UFC fighter clapped back: “Lad, I will spar him anytime. Anytime. But the thing is, we’d have to get the $1 million put in escrow, because I know he’d just bump me. He wouldn’t give me $1 million after I beat him up.”
He continued, “I’ve said to him, ‘Come and spar me on the 12th in the P.I. in Vegas. I’m there on the Monday, come and spar me. Let’s do it.’ And he says, ‘Oh I’ve got something I need to do. Come to Puerto Rico on the 19th or the 20th.’ No lad, I’m not doing it on your terms.”
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Pimblett also laid down his conditions for an official fight, “If I fought Jake Paul, he’d have to come down to 180, 175 even. I fight at 155, he fights at 195, so we can meet in the middle. That’s the thing with Jake Paul, he always wants it on his terms. He’ll never have it with someone on an even playing field.”
Despite their numerous verbal spats, Paul and Pimblett have yet to clash in the ring. Meanwhile, Pimblett is currently taking a break from fighting after his recent victory over King Green this summer.
American YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul is gearing up for his epic face-off with boxing legend Mike Tyson, set to take place on Friday, November 15. In the run-up to his battle with the former heavyweight kingpin, Paul expressed frustration over failed sparring arrangements with Sean Strickland and Pimblett.
Paddy Pimblett has been offered $1m to spar Jake Paul in the past (
Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
During a conversation with Sean O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch, Paul didn’t hold back, venting, “This s*** actually pisses me off,” and adding, “Him and Paddy Pimblett, I both offer $1 million and a private jet to go and pick them up to come and spar me and then it’s excuses, they can’t, they can’t spar an influencer. You’re literally training, you’re fully allowed to do that and they just go radio silent.”
He continued to disparage the MMA fighters’ striking skills, saying, “So it is a bummer, especially because a lot of dumb***, casual, MMA sport people genuinely think that these guys are amazing strikers and it’s like ‘how many times have I proved that I’m a better boxer than champion MMA fighters.”
When quizzed about the specifics of his upcoming bout with Tyson, Paul confirmed that Tyson had indeed requested two-minute rounds and 14-ounce gloves, stating, “Yeah, that was always what he wanted from day one and I just wanted to agree to his rules, [to get it done]” and explaining his approach to fight negotiations: “That’s mostly how I am with these fights, like, ‘what makes sense? Let’s make it a fair fight and move on and just make it happen’.”
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