It's long been known that successful social media stars can go on to make millions through sponsorship deals and brand partnerships. However, Jake Paul has taken it all to the next level, diversifying in an unprecedented way and using his platform to become a sports star. Not only is he now a boxing champ, but he's more lucrative than any other professional boxer, and the numbers speak for themselves...
The star, who was featured in the 300th episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO, told Gumbel that he made $45 million in the past year from boxing alone. This includes his three pay-per-view fights, which he has become famous for and proved extremely popular with sports fans. With those figures, the 24-year-old, who has made a career out of knocking out former UFC champions, is officially the highest-paid boxer on the planet. After his fight against former UFC champion Tyron Woodley which saw him knock out his opponent with one punch, Sports Illustrated named Jake the "2021 Breakout Boxer of The Year."
It all started three years ago, when @JakePaul decided his 70 million followers on social media might enjoy watching him box another YouTube star. Now he’s earning more money than every other boxer in the world. Catch a new episode of #RealSports tonight on @hbomax pic.twitter.com/Qm5cVM52ic
— Real Sports (@RealSportsHBO) April 19, 2022
Impressively, Paul has managed to come this far without having fought any currently ranked boxer and has relied on his 70 million followers to keep him relevant. But he's not planning on retiring from the ring anytime soon, calling on multiple retired UFC champions such as Michael Bisping to come against him.
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In response to Paul's invitation to Bisping, former UFC champion Daniel Cormier has another potential competitor for Jake - Anderson Silva. "That’s who you should be fighting Jake. That’s who you should be calling out. Because guess what, he still fits the mold. He’s a former UFC champ. Amateur boxer, because he’s only fought, I don’t know, only five boxing fights. He’s just like you, he’s your size, and he’s up there in age. That fight actually gives us some idea of what this thing is that you’re trying to do or portray," Cormier said. Wondering who else is making it big in the boxing world? Check out our list here and catch Paul's interview on HBO Max now.
