Jake Paul will fight Houston-based professional boxer Andre August on December 15 in Orlando. The news comes just about a week after Paul's team revealed that their initial opponent had failed to secure a visa for the United States. August is 35 years old and has a 10-1-1 career record. That makes him the most experienced fighter Paul has faced in his career so far. Furthermore, it marks a shift in Paul's approach to boxing. It's hard to take the decision as anything other than Paul addressing the primary criticism against him - that he takes name value over boxing reputation when it comes to opponents.
“I’m a professional boxer and I want to be world champion, so I need to pursue the path towards greatness against people who have been boxing their whole life. So far, my entire boxing career has been on pay-per-view, but now it’s about more than business. Now I want to build my experience in the ring against seasoned fighters. I’m coming to prove my greatness on Friday, December 15th live on DAZN for the world to see," Paul said in a statement.
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August Poses Real Challenge For Paul
While this fight will not have the glamor of Paul's previous fights, August will serve as a very real test of Paul's boxing ability. “I don't talk very much. I’m all about that action! Jake Paul has the money, the fame, the team and the resources but he doesn’t have my hunger. When that bell rings, I am going to go straight to Jake Paul and ring his bell and send him back to YouTube for good," August said of the fight.
Furthermore, members of Paul's camp praised the former YouTuber for taking on the challenge presented by August. Once again [he's] doing what very few of the best and biggest boxers in the world have done in their 9th professional fight – fighting someone with a better record and more experience. Pound-for-pound, the great Terrence Crawford fought a 9-14 opponent in his 9th fight, Canelo Alvarez fought a 0-1 opponent, and Gervonta Davis fought an opponent that had 31 losses! But Terence, Canelo, and Gervonta didn’t have the world watching. Jake Paul does, and he’s once again putting it all on the line taking on a 10-1 opponent," Nakisa Bidarian said.
[via]