Jake Paul has demanded Dana White take him up on a $5million bet that he will beat Anderson Silva in his boxing return next month.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has taken a new approach in the lead-up to his fight with UFC legend Silva on October 29, opting to play 'Mr Nice Guy' and shower his opponent in respect after growing up idolising the Brazilian. So in an effort to stoke controversy and get people interested in a rivalry, he has gone back to his old rival; UFC boss White.
Paul insists White still owes him $1m from when he claimed he would bet anybody that Ben Askren would beat Paul in their April 2021 showdown. That bet was never made official and White has claimed he was being offered considerably less favourable odds than any sportsbook by Paul's people, but the narrative remains and now the social media star wants more.
"I know you're watching, bro," Paul told White in a public callout at his launch press conference for the fight in Los Angeles yesterday. "You still owe me $1m for the time you bet against me for Ben Askren.
"But I want you to come out of hiding, stop being a b**** and make a bet against me and Anderson and actually pay up this time. You didn't think that I would take this fight, so let's make a bet. Let's put a mill, let's put two mill, let's put five mill on it, but I bet you won't, Dana, because you're a b****."
Paul and White's heated feud dates back over a year, and has included a 'diss track' from the YouTube star. Most recently, White insisted that reporters at UFC press conferences stop asking him about Paul, and the Ohio native claimed in an unverified tweet that PR people for the promotion had told those covering last weekend's UFC 279 event not to put questions to him regarding the topic.
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The return of Paul to the ring comes almost a year after his star-making knockout of former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. He was due back at the start of August in New York, but both Tommy Fury and replacement opponent Hasim Rahman Jr pulled out and the event was cancelled on just a week's notice.
Fury had issues getting into America, while Rahman Jr faced a seemingly impossible battle with the scale that resulted in the commission insisting that he wouldn't be able to honour his contract. When a new weight couldn't be agreed, the entire show, including Amanda Serrano fighting for the unified featherweight titles, was scrapped.
Now, Paul faces his first 'real' boxer, with Silva holding a 3-1 record that includes a recent scalp over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The Brazilian is a legendary UFC fighter who Paul himself was a massive fan of growing up, and is the 5-0 boxers first opponent with a southpaw stance as well as a height and reach advantage on him.
