Jake Paul has described his emphatic victory over Ben Askren as the “craziest moment of his life” as he dedicated the win to his late friend and security guard.
The YouTube celebrity passed what was billed as by far his toughest boxing assignment to date with flying colours, stopping his opponent - a former MMA star - with a crushing right hand with less than two minutes on the clock in round number one of Saturday night’s Triller Fight Club main event in Atlanta, Georgia.
That latest triumph means Paul remains undefeated as a professional boxer, improving his record to 3-0 after previous wins over fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib and former NBA player Nate Robinson.
The 24-year-old was overcome with emotion after the fight and paid tribute to friend and former security partner ‘The Shadow’ Shamir Bolivar, who died recently.
“I’ve been in training camp every day, I deserved that s**t,” Paul said in his post-fight interview on Triller.
“This is the craziest moment of my life. I told y’all I was going to do it in the first round, I told y’all I’m a real fighter.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve got to prove myself that this is for real.
“This is for Shadow, my security guard who passed away 10 days ago. He told me I would knock him out in the first round, he said he had a vision in a dream.
“This has been the hardest 10 days of my life, I’ve had to hold it together to keep this fight going.
“I’m just honoured to be here. Just a couple of years ago, my teachers would make fun of me in class, telling me I can’t do nothing, telling me I wasn’t smart.
“My schoolmates making fun of me, I used to landscape. I just had a dream and I chased it and worked hard.
“To think I’m here standing next to these legends, it’s unbelievable.”
