Jake Paul has claimed he doesn't know who any of the cruiserweight champions are, proving Lawrence Okolie's theory about Mairis Briedis' incessant callouts true.
Briedis, the IBF champion at the weight class and one of the best fighters in the world, has been calling for 5-0 YouTuber-turned-boxer to fight him for his belt.
He has released a diss track on the social media star, as well as a number of videos over the past few months, even inking a tattoo about "Jake's Bad Karma".
However, the YouTuber not only appears not to have seen Briedis' efforts, but doesn't even know who the world champion is.
Briedis is one of four title holders at the weight, and holds The Ring Magazine belt which generally indicates being the top fighter in a division.
The Latvian holds the IBF world title, while Okolie has the WBO belt, with Ilunga Makabu the WBC champion and Arsen Goulamirian the WBA super belt holder.
But during an interview on The MMA Hour, Paul said that his boxing fame has put him in the conversation at world level despite being far below that in terms of skill.
And he noted that there are very few boxers with the name value he can fight at cruiserweight, saying he doesn't even know who the champions are.
"There's really no boxer with a big enough name to make an interesting enough event that are anywhere near my weight class or experience level," Paul explained.
"Fighting for the world title would be the only fight that would sell, but I don't even know who the cruiserweight champion is.
"I think Canelo was supposed to fight him or something [Makabu has been authorised to fight Alvarez by the WBC].
"It just doesn't make any sense, it's my sixth fight and this guy is a world champion, so no-one really has a big enough name in the boxing world."
In an interview with Mirror Fighting last month, Okolie expressed hope that Briedis' tattoo of Paul, which he got on his leg to call out the YouTuber, was fake.
Do you agree with Lawrence Okolie's take on Mairis Briedis' callouts of Jake Paul? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
He blasted the publicity stunt as sad, and theorised that Paul likely has no clue who the Latvian is, insisting that he should be focusing on his mandatory challengers and then unifying the division.
"I don't know if it's real," Okolie said at the time. "I'm going to go under the impression that it's a publicity stunt.
"I can't see him making a lifelong commitment to a person who hasn't actually acknowledged he exists yet.
"It's a bit sad that we've got to the stage in boxing where one of the best fighters in the world, almost pound-for-pound, has got to now do this for someone who's 5-0 against no boxers.
"I understand that money's always important, but it's almost selling your soul at the moment for boxing.
"Look at Jake Paul, he's a businessman, he's smart, he's not going to fight Briedis so you're asking for impossible fights purely for clout - he's got a mandatory that he has to sort out!
"Nobody who's turned over two or three fights is going and fighting a world champion."
