Jake Paul has claimed former world champion Steve Cunningham was "blown away" by his ability in sparring.
Paul will take on Hasim Rahman Jr in his sixth professional fight on August 6 at Madison Square Garden. It will be the toughest test of his career after his original planned fight with Tommy Fury collapsing after the Briton was prevented from travelling to the US.
The YouTube star has sparred with several professional fighters including former cruiserweight king Cunningham. And Paul has claimed positive feedback from top boxers has seen his confidence grow. "I like to go harder in sparring to prepare myself for fight night," Paul said when assessing his sparring with Cunningham on the Flagrant podcast. "When I sparred with former world champion Steve Cunningham, three-time world champion and this was a year ago. He is bigger than me and taller than me and knocked down Tyson Fury.