YouTube star Deji was shocked to hear Jake Paul insult him on social media after speaking highly of his former opponent ahead of his return to the ring this weekend.
The pair fought in each other's boxing debuts at the Manchester Arena in 2018, with Paul taking the win with a fifth-round stoppage.
But despite appearing to bury the hatchet after a bitter back-and-forth in the lead-up to their fight, the pair seem to be at odds again, despite the Brit claiming he's "proud" of his former rival.
After Deji made comments about Paul at a media workout for his return to the ring against Alex Wassabi last night, the American responded by calling him a "walking pube" and a "f***ing idiot".
But speaking with Mirror Fighting tonight after his press conference with Wassabi, the social media star said that he felt Paul had not heard the entirety of his generally glowing praise of his old opponent.
"It's funny," Deji responded after learning of Paul's posts. "I said nothing but nice things about him and he called me an idiot.
"So maybe I am an idiot for saying nice things about him. All the best Jake, I'm proud of you man!"
The pair have taken vastly different paths in their boxing careers, with Paul going on to turn professional and amass a 5-0 professional record while Deji lost his ring return to Vinnie Hacker last summer.
Paul most recently defeated former UFC champion Tyron Woodley by knockout in the sixth round of their rematch after defeating him last summer following a win over ex-Bellator champion Ben Askren.
Meanwhile, Deji was stopped within three rounds by TikTok star and model Hacker in a dismal showing which forced him to drop his coaching team and take a new approach to the sport.
And he believes that within five fights he will be back across the ring from Paul in a rematch of their white collar bout from all those years ago.
Would you like to see a rematch between Deji and Jake Paul? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"That's the plan," Deji told Mirror Fighting about a possible rematch. "I need to build up a portfolio, but who knows I might get another shot at redemption - I guess I'd need maybe five wins, potentially, we'll see though, nobody knows."
"Even if you hate Jake Paul, you have to respect what he's doing, I don't hate him, but I hated him back then.
"As of now, not really because you grow up and everything but I have just nothing but respect for what he's doing.To get in the ring is one of the hardest things to do."
Tickets are on sale now at showstarboxing.com and via AXS for Showstar Boxing 2022, which will be headlined by Deji vs Alex Wassabi.
If you're outside of the UK, you can watch the fight on PPV via the Showstar website for £6.99.
