Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul have come face-to-face this week as the pair prepare to do battle in opposite corners - as boxing promoters.
The pair are both in New York promoting the historic event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden and were at opposite ends of the negotiating table.
Paul and Hearn have been a crucial part of the build-up going face-to-face during the initial press conference to promote the event. The pair have since made a $1 million bet backing their charges to win the fight and shook hands in front of the media.
Now the pair have teased a fight during a sit-down face-off, with Hearn claiming he would accept a $10 million offer to face Paul. The YouTube star believes a fight would only last "30 seconds".
Let's examine the profiles of the pair if the pair were matched in a hypothetical fight...
Background
Hearn and Paul have shared a working relationship since the Matchroom Boxing kingpin promoted the YouTube star's professional boxing debut against AnEson Gib.
The British promoter has worked as the chairman of Matchroom Sport since taking over from founder and father Barry Hearn, signing a lucrative deal to promote boxing fights with Sky Sports in 2015.
During that time he has staged some of the biggest boxing events across the globe, and has high-profile fighters such as Anthony Joshua and Canelo Alvarez currently fighting under the Matchroom banner. He now stages events on streaming service DAZN including Taylor's historic clash against Serrano which has brought him together with Paul.
Paul has made a high-profile move into boxing, having made a career as a YouTube and social media sensation with over 20 million subscribers on the video platform. He has since fought five times as a professional fighting on Hearn's platform during his professional win over AnEson Gib.
He stands at six feet one inch tall and has been fighting at the cruiserweight limit throughout his career. Meanwhile Hearn would hold a sizeable height advantage over Paul standing at six feet and four inches. Hearn is significantly older than Paul at the age of 42 with the 'Problem Child' just 25-years-old.
Paul and Hearn have now been involved together during fight-week staging a mock face-off and placing a $1 million wager on the winner of Taylor v Serrano.
Fighting experience
Paul has launched a professional career in fighting having won his first five professional fights since entering the ranks. His first victory came against fellow YouTuber AnEson Gib under Hearn's promotional banner.
He later fought basketball star Nate Robinson and knocked him out on the undercard of Mike Tyson's exhibiton with Roy Jones Jr. Paul then defeated UFC star Ben Askren before outpointing former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. Paul was set to meet Tommy Fury after their rivalry ignited, but was forced to rematch Woodley where he produced a highlight-reel knockout last December.
The YouTube star is now eyeing a growing list of high-profile opponents which include boxing's leading star Canelo Alvarez and UFC superstar Conor McGregor. He plans to return to the ring in August and could be promoted by Hearn after a social media post teased the pair working together again.
What do you make of Jake Paul's boxing career? Let us know in the comments section below
Hearn has admitted he has experience fighting as a white-collar boxer but claims he wasn't very good in the ring. He said : “ My friends used to call me that. Because you guys, Americans might need to know, I did have a couple of amateur bouts, I was absolutely terrible. My friends used to call me ‘Hitman Hearn’… Don’t worry about calling me ‘Hitman’. Eddie Hearn is fine."
The Matchroom Boxing kingpin recently sparred the promotion's CEO Frank Smith and got the better of him throughout the session, which led to further murmurs of him making a one-off move to the ring. However it appears unlikely with Hearn demanding a $10 million purse to step in the ring with Paul.
Net worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Eddie Hearn has a staggering net worth of $50 million from his time in a promotional career in boxing.
This has also been accumulated through his status as a multi-sports promoter having reigned as Chairman at Matchroom Sport and Matchroom Boxing. Hearn has been involved with some high-profile and lucrative bouts including Anthony Joshua's mega-money rematch with Andy Ruiz in Saudi Arabia.
Paul is expected to have a net worth of around $50 million after earning lucrative rewards from his recent boxing exploits. The 25-year-old had also generated a significant wealth from his time working as a YouTuber and social media star.
He is expected to have earned around $45 million last year from his fighting exploits which ranks him marginally behind the likes of Conor McGregor and Canelo Alvarez. However Paul has claimed he would have generated around $100 million due to his investments in cryptocurrency and other business ventures.
What has been said?
Hearn: “The great thing about him is that he’s not been tarnished yet with the bitterness of the sport. “He’s just thinking how we can make this fight as big as possible, rather than ‘don’t like that guy, I’m not going to push this hard’, at the moment he’s refreshing and great to work with as a promoter.
“I gave him his debut as a fighter, it’s my fault this whole thing. One of the reasons why we were so successful was because I was young, and I could attract the younger generation. It’s the same with what he’s doing, but he’s got a platform, much bigger than I ever had.
“People that aren’t in boxing, who don’t follow boxing, he can try to bring them in for that fight and that’s important for the next generation, to grow fight fans. I don't think he will become world champion, but he likes proving people wrong not gonna lie.
"But there are so many great fighters out there and the problem is with Jake is that he has a wrestling background so he has spent time in combat. But he doesn't have a boxing background and it is no disrespect to Jake you can't just turn to boxing and become world champion, but he will of course try to prove us wrong."
Paul: "Yeah of course I like Eddie Hearn. I do give him credit for noticing the thing with this YouTube and influencer thing because we do s*** differently and know how to market. I respect his opinion and we get on well, and it is just two men having opinions."
