American YouTuber Jake Paul outclassed legendary boxer Mike Tyson on the latter’s return to competitive action after a gap of almost two decades. Paul rose to the occasion and beat the 59-year-old in the bout, which lasted eight rounds at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. For the special occasion, Paul donned a never-before-seen boxing gear, which he deemed as the “most expensive in sporting history”. According to the Problem Child, his outfit features 380 carat diamonds between his boxing shorts, shoes, and jacket.
Paul’s ensembled was designed by Los Angeles-based studio Surgeon, and is valued at around $1 million (Rs 8.4 crore). Paul’s silver jacket featured his name encrusted in diamonds on the front, along with diamond tennis chains attached to both, his shorts and shoes.
In addition, the gray jacket featured the logo of his new healthcare line, W by Jake Paul, also encrusted with jewels. However, this luxury lifestyle is nothing new for Paul. Also, at the official weigh-in on Friday, he was seen wearing a $7 million (Rs 59 crore approx.) on a Jacob and Co. watch.
The 27-year-old from Cleveland, who defeated veteran heavyweight icon Mike Tyson in an eight-round made-for-Netflix bout on Friday, has parlayed his fame as an internet celebrity into a lucrative career in combat sports.
Paul, who is estimated to have a net worth of $80 million according to the Celebrity Net Worth website, first rose to prominence in 2013, posting short-form videos to the now-shuttered site Vine, garnering millions of followers and billions of views.
He subsequently transported his knack for creating viral content to YouTube in 2014, launching his own channel which became renowned for controversies, practical jokes and hip-hop.
In 2015 he made a foray into television, signing for the Disney Channel in the teen series “Bizaardvark.”
That relationship ended in 2017 amid increasing media attention on some of Paul’s Youtube stunts such as setting furniture on fire in an empty swimming pool at his luxury home in Los Angeles.
Paul gained wider attention however when he turned his hand to celebrity boxing, a trend started by his elder brother Logan Paul who fought English influencer KSI in a pay-per-view amateur contest in Manchester in 2018.
Though ridiculed by the traditional boxing world, that fight — where Jake Paul appeared on the undercard against English influencer Deji Olatunji — gained attention from the sport’s moneymen for selling some 1.3 million pay-per-view buys.
Before his fight with Tyson, Paul had a 7-1 professional, with his only defeat coming earlier this year against British boxer Tommy Fury.
(With AFP Inputs)
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