Can jakepaul go from boxing interloper to bonafide champion? SIChrisMannix took a look at the Youtube star’s training camp to find out:
The boxer rises just before noon, late by traditionally accepted standards, normal for a fighter looking to train his body to peak in the evening hours. He eats a light breakfast—oatmeal, some sliced fruit, washed down with a glass of Himalayan salt water—prepared by a live-in chef who prepares all his meals—before heading to the gym. The gym—gym—is an abandoned medical supply building he purchased with his brother shortly after both decided to move to Puerto Rico.
On Saturday, Paul, 25, will face the closest approximation so far when he takes on Anderson Silva in a 187-pound catchweight fight. Silva, 47, is best known for his MMA exploits but is 3–1 as a boxer, which includes a win over former middleweight champion Julio César Chavéz Jr. last year. It will be Paul’s stiffest test, one that may answer some of the questions of just how good Jake Paul can be.
Paul didn’t find boxing. It found him. In 2018, KSI, a popular British influencer, called out Logan. He accepted. Jake signed on to fight on the undercard. He didn’t know anything about boxing. Growing up his father, Greg, had a heavy bag in his basement. Occasionally Paul would slip on MMA gloves and whack away at it. “But only for a minute or two,” says Paul. “I’d get tired.” As a freshman, a frustrated Paul slugged a wrestler during a match. “Got disqualified,” says Paul.
BJ Flores first met Paul in 2019. A former cruiserweight title challenger, Flores had been recruited to help Paul, then being trained by Shane Mosley, prepare for his pro debut against Ali Eson Gib, a fellow YouTuber that Paul was scheduled to face on the undercard of Logan’s rematch with KSI. Over dozens of rounds of sparring the two forged a connection. “Shane was great,” says Paul. “BJ was just able to explain things to me a little better.” Against Gib, Paul picked up a first-round knockout.
In November 2020, Paul landed a spot on the undercard of the Mike Tyson–Roy Jones Jr. exhibition. He was matched against Nate Robinson, a former NBA star. He stopped Robinson with a right hand in the second round. Five months later Paul was in Atlanta, facing Askren. Less than two minutes into the first round, Askren was knocked out. Each camp, says Flores, Paul has shown improvement. “He’s like a sponge,” says Flores. “Show him something, and he does it.
Against Woodley, he did. On the surface, the right hand that put Woodley down last December looked like a lucky—albeit clean—punch. But Paul’s team pointed to the previous minute, where Paul jabbed and feinted at Woodley’s body, drawing him into dropping his left hand. “Lucky? Bulls---,” says Flores. “Jake set him up. He worked hard on that shot. There’s no luck in any of this.”
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