Wait, doesn’t everybody hate Jake Paul. Well, maybe. But there is one group of people who absolutely can’t stand the guy: fighters.
So why do fighters hate him more than regular people? Because he has essentially hacked the system to become the most well-known fighter in the world.
However, he hasn’t had to go through the early, extremely-difficult stages of a traditional career in fighting. Jake Paul never had to live out of his car to be able to train full-time as a boxer. He never had to move away from his family to be able to train at a gym far away from his home.
He had access to resources from the early stages of his career — something that most professional fighters don’t have. Because of these resources, he had the ability to pick and choose his opponents. He had the ability to optimize his training camp (nutrition, recovery, PEDs?, and coaches) in a way that only the top 1% of athletes can afford.
So What?
So I think Jake Paul has shown that fighters don’t have to take the traditional route to finding success in the fight game. A lot of fighters have taken note and are using their social media accounts and other platforms to raise their notoriety, increasing their value for the promotion they represent, and as a result, getting paid more to fight.
This approach won’t work for everyone. It can work well, if you’re Conor McGregor and you’re an amazing shit talker. If you aren’t and this doesn’t come naturally, it can be incredibly awkward — and people can tell it isn’t genuine.
So my point is. If you want to be a professional fighter, or even a successful Internet personality, take the shortcut. Build your following and leverage it to help you accomplish your goals. If it requires you to be the heel and have people hate you…it just might be worth it?
Christian Stewart 