Jake Paul has been branded a "punk" for his "horrible" call-out of UFC legend Michael Bisping.
YouTube star Paul has amassed a record of 5-0 as a professional boxer since his first fight against fellow social media sensation AnEsonGib in 2020. He will return to the ring on August 13 but has yet to name his opponent.
Former UFC middleweight champion Bisping is one of six of names on Paul's shortlist but the Brit is unlikely to be licensed to fight given his injury record. He has one fake eye and has had two knee replacement surgeries following his retirement.
But that has not deterred Paul who claims to be willing to offer his rival $1million if he can prove he is free from his contractual obligations with the UFC. Although unlikely to accept the fight, Bisping has claimed he would be granted a license by a commission on an Indian reserve.
But former UFC referee John McCarthy has hit out at Paul for his repeated trolling of the ex-champion. "[He's an] absolute punk," he said on his Weighing In podcast. "The fact that you are going and calling out a guy in Michael Bisping who has one eye, has two metal knees.
"And this is the guy that you are going to try to fight to show how good you are? Come on, man. That is just horrible. It doesn’t look good for you. It doesn’t look good for anything. It’s not that Michael Bisping wouldn’t fight you, he would. I agree, I think he would but the fact that any athletic commission will allow it to happen.
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"With the medical things that Michael has going against him, and the age, and the lack of fighting experience for the last so many years, and the lack of never being a boxer. Just absolutely horrible if they did."
Paul has not fought since he knocked out former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in their rematch last December. He had been focusing on Amanda Serrano's undisputed clash with Katie Taylor which the Irish star won on points last weekend.
Tommy Fury and Anderson Silva are the likely frontrunners to face Paul later this summer with the Brazilian in action next weekend on the undercard Floyd Mayweather's exhibition bout against Don Moore. Fury, meanwhile, returned to the ring last month with an unconvincing points on brother Tyson's undercard.
