Jake Paul knocked out Andre August in one round and wants to continue fighting professional boxers; Paul called for a fight with Britain's Viddal Riley: "As I go down this path I'm going to continue to challenge myself and grow and some of those names start popping into the equation"
Sunday 17 December 2023 17:54, UK
Jake Paul is targeting a bout with Viddal Riley after he secured his first victory over a professional boxer this weekend.
Paul knocked out Andre August, who now has a 10-2-1 (5) pro boxing record, in the first round with an uppercut.
In his press conference afterwards, Paul welcomed the prospect of taking on Britain's Viddal Riley.
Riley, who trained YouTube personality KSI, is an unbeaten professional cruiserweight who now holds the English title.
"For sure that can happen," Paul said of fighting Riley. "That would be interesting and he has a name, a profile and that's something that excites me for sure.
"As I go down this path I'm going to continue to challenge myself and grow and grow and grow and some of those names start popping into the equation."
A social media star, Paul began his boxing career fighting other YouTubers. He then took on athletes from other sports, including MMA, before facing Tommy Fury, who does have a boxing background.
He lost a decision to Fury in February but is continuing to look for credibility as a boxer, viewing the knockout win over August as a step in that direction.
"It's surreal. I'm trying to take in the whole entire moment and have fun during this whole entire experience," Paul said.
"I think this [one-round victory] is the best one. Calling it the whole entire week, not getting hit one time in the fight and just setting him up for that.
"I think self-belief's a weird thing. You set a super high goal for yourself and you see the vision but there's ups and downs throughout getting there. Sometimes you are discouraged, you fall down, you fall flat on your face. You're like: 'What am I doing? Is this all worth is? Is this what I'm supposed to be doing?'
"It's just believing in yourself, and I don't know if I pictured it that good, but I do be manifesting the knockouts."
