Jake Paul says Conor McGregor needs me ‘more than I need him,’ plans on retiring Tyron Woodley
Jake Paul has lofty expectations for his boxing career with the next challenge coming against former UFC champion Tyron Woodley on Aug. 29.
Prior to this fight coming together, Paul had spent the better part of the past year calling out Irish superstar Conor McGregor as he attempted to jump start his own boxing career while facing off against the biggest draw in combat sports today.
He even went as far as having a $100,000 custom made gold chain made that included a pendant modeled after McGregor when he fell by second-round knockout loss to Dustin Poirier back in January.
This past Saturday night, McGregor lost to Poirier again after suffering a gruesome broken leg at the end of the first round that saw him go into surgery less than 24 hours later. Now with McGregor sitting at 1-3 in his past four fights and likely looking at a year off to recover from the broken leg, Paul seems to be losing interest in pursuing him any longer.
“I think the funny thing about this journey is I’ve predicted everything that has happened thus far. 18 months ago when I said I wanted to fight Conor, people laughed at me,” Paul said during his pre-fight press conference. “Now I’m laughing at Conor with a broken ankle sitting there in the octagon and he needs Jake Paul more than I need him. So yeah, my offer to Conor is $23.
“If we ever fought I would knock those fake ass teeth right out of his f*cking mouth. Dustin Poirier defeated this man. Dustin Poirier is an amazing fighter, don’t get me wrong, an amazing guy. I actually became a fan of his over the weekend but he’s 5-foot-9, 155 pounds. I’m 6-foot-1, 200 [pounds] so Conor McGregor would not stand a chance.”
After McGregor suffered the loss at UFC 264, Paul offered to send his custom-made chain mocking the former two-division champion to Poirier as a present for a job well done.
It appears Paul will actually send that to Poirier, who already had plans for the custom-made jewelry once he receives it.
“The Conor chain is back at home right now but Dustin Poirier sent me over his address so we’re getting that over to him,” Paul said. “I think he’s going to auction it off for charity. So somebody’s going to be able to get the notorious McGregor, sleepy McGregor chain.”
Aside from his jabs at McGregor, Paul spent most of his time at the pre-fight press conference focused on Woodley and their upcoming fight in August.
Despite Woodley’s vast experience advantage in combat sports where he’s a former multi-time defending UFC champion, Paul actually expects the pressure of this situation to get to his opponent once they step into the ring together.
“You have never been in a fight like this and you know that the whole MMA community is counting on you,” Paul said when addressing Woodley. “You’ve never been in a fight of this scale. That’s why this is the biggest payday of your life and you know the whole MMA community is counting on you to knock me out and beat me. When you lost to Kamaru Usman, when you lost to Gilbert Burns, when you lost to all of those guys, you had built in excuses. ‘Oh they were the best.’
“What happens when you lose to Jake Paul? You’re going to be the laughing stock of the internet. Just like I turned Nate Robinson into a floormat, I’m going to turn you into f*cking paste.”
Since signing for the fight, Woodley has put his full attention on his training to transition into boxing but Paul even had questions about that after the former UFC champion has posted videos working with a number of different trainers over the past several weeks.
“We can talk about fighting if you want to dive into it,” Paul said. “Look at your coaches. Who is your coach? Is it Pedro Diaz? Is it Eric Brown? Floyd Mayweather? You’re bouncing around coaches like you do baby mamas. How many kids you got now? You’re a 39-year-old man whose pull out game is weak. Get your sh*t together, bro.”
When it comes to his own skills, Paul believes he’s already shown what he’s capable of doing with three knockouts in three consecutive fights while amassing a team around him that he expects to get him ready for Woodley or anybody else he faces in the future.
“I think the secret’s out of the bag,” Paul said about his skills. “I’m sparring some of the best fighters in the world — Andrew Tabiti, Jean Pascal, J’Leon Love, Rob Sifar. The list goes on. When I knockout Tyron, I think people will be like ‘wow this kid he’s the real deal.’
“I’m a real killer. I’m going to take Tyron into deep waters and drown him. This is my make or break fight. People are wanting to see me lose. The MMA community wants to see Jake Paul fall and they’re counting on Tyron but he’s just not going to get the job done.”
After staring down Woodley earlier this year to announce the fight, Paul is confident he is facing a beaten man who is about be broken for the last time when he steps into the ring on Aug. 29.
That’s why Paul is offering such a bold prediction ahead of what he still believes is his toughest test to date through four professional fights.
“I saw a man who just accepted a fight mostly for a paycheck,” Paul said about Woodley. “I saw a man who doesn’t really have fight left in him. I saw a man who’s been defeated multiple times now and who will be finished and sent into retirement by a YouTube-Disney star boxer.”
“I think your career’s over. I’m going to bounce your brain off your skull, instant concussion. You will be on the mat. You’re just not the same Tyron anymore.”
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