Jake Paul has revealed the prospect of a fight with Conor McGregor convinced him to take up boxing.
The YouTube star has called out McGregor throughout the early stages of his fighting career and he is looking to stage his latest crossover bout since defeating Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
McGregor is currently sidelined from competing as he recovers from a broken leg but is likely to return to the octagon this summer in a bid for lightweight redemption.
However Paul is determined to entice him into the boxing ring - and is willing to take on McGregor in Ireland.
“I want to fight [Conor] McGregor, I will fight him in a boxing ring in Ireland," Paul said during a press conference in London. "This is partially how the journey [in boxing] started.
"I made up my mind that I was going to get a fight with McGregor and win it and that is what motivated me to jump into this boxing career.”
McGregor has already competed in the boxing ring, taking on undefeated star Floyd Mayweather in a bout branded the 'biggest fight in combat sports history'.
The event generated a revenue in excess of $500million and became the second highest selling pay-per-view boxing event with over four million buys recorded.
Paul clearly believes that he can take part in a similar event with McGregor who is the biggest name star in the UFC.
With his name also carrying a huge following alongside his rising boxing profile, Paul has continued to search for fights against combat sport's biggest names including Anderson Silva and Canelo Alvarez.
Any bout with McGregor is unlikely to take place in the near future with the Irishman currently recovering from his broken leg.
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Paul has continued to aim jibes at McGregor throughout his short boxing career and previously called for him to "sober up" in order to secure a mega-fight with him in the future.
McGregor has accomplished a great deal in the sport and earned huge wealth, but fans have become concerned that he may not return to fighting action.
The 33-year-old vowed to fans to stop drinking alcohol after fans became concerned with his recent social media activity.
Paul has since joined the criticism of McGregor and believes his life is "falling apart" but has called for him to figure it out to arrange a future clash.
"I don't give a s*** about Conor," Paul said. "I just want to fight him and smack him in the head - in that sense I hope that he can win some fights so that we can actually fight.
"But the guy is a grown-a** man, he needs to figure out his life; it seems to be falling apart from what I can tell. That's clearly one of his many problems - he needs to get in the gym and drink calcium because his bones are f****** breaking."
