Jake Paul oozes confidence. But Andre August has faced scarier challenges than Paul.
So much for those bulging muscles. So much for the 10-1-1 record with five knockouts.
Andre August, who owns all of the above, has earned little visible respect from oddsmakers or Jake Paul heading into his boxing match against Paul Friday night in Orlando, Florida and to be livestreamed by DAZN. Of course, one of the scariest things about August is something you can’t see.
His past in Beaumont, Texas.
“Man, growing up in the streets, a young Black man, gang banging with a certain hood, fighting over territory,’’ August, 35, told USA TODAY Sports. “It was gun wars back in the days, as a youngster. I could have lost my life, and I thank God for the opportunity to be where I am today.’’
The next opportunity is a fight against Paul (7-1, 4 KO's) at the cruiserweight division of 190 pounds scheduled for eight rounds. Though the fight will take place in Florida, here's the geographical reality: the chances of August pulling off the upset against a multimillionaire YouTube star who grew up in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, likely are rooted in, you guessed it, Beaumont.
August’s trainer, Justin Deshone, said he grew up on the same streets as August, who now lives in Houston.
“We’ve literally come from like the bottom, bro,’’ Deshone said. “Jake Paul can have all the resources he wants. But he’ll never have the type of experience or the struggle of what it is to actually get from the bottom to the top.’’
Why is Jake Paul fighting Andre August?
Paul has not provided a convincing answer as to why he chose to fight a reformed gang banger with Q rating clearly lower than any of his previous opponents.
“Look, the biggest criticisms are, fight a real boxer,’’ said Paul, who's taken on MMA fighters in five of his seven bouts and also fought a YouTuber. “Fight someone more experienced than you. … It’s time to show up, put it on the line, take those risks.’’
That sounded persuasive. Until a few minutes later. That's when Paul said August has “sorry’’ footwork and predicted August wouldn’t land a punch.
Regardless, Paul said his fight with August is a logical step in his progression.
“I’ve generated $250 million in pay per view revenue,’’ he said. “So that’s cool. But money doesn’t create legacy. And for me this is my road to world championship.
“And it’s about getting the experience under the bright lights to actually be able to compete at the highest, highest level and to win and to do the unthinkable and to create one of the greatest sports stories in the history of sports. To go from Disney Channel to world champion in less than six years. That is why I’m here, that is why we’re doing this, and that’s what this is all about for me.’’