Jake Paul has taken another swipe at Conor McGregor by questioning the UFC star’s offer to help stage the boxing rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano at the famous Irish stadium Croke Park. Paul, the former Disney actor and YouTuber who is embarking on a professional fighting career, claims McGregor’s offer was made while drunk.
Paul is currently gearing up for his boxing match against Tommy Fury, the half-brother of heavyweight boxing champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury, which takes place on February 26. Among his many business interests, Paul has gotten into boxing promotion with his company, Most Valuable Promotions. It is through this company that a potential beef with McGregor is forming.
Amanda Serrano is part of Paul’s network. Serrano has 44 wins from 47 fights, one draw, and only two defeats. One of those losses came in April 2022 when Katie Taylor defeated her by a split decision, extending Taylor’s unbeaten record. McGregor has always been hugely supportive of Ireland’s Taylor and has offered to help stage the Taylor-Serrano rematch at Ireland’s famous Croke Park stadium.
McGregor Offers to Pay for Boxing Match’s Security
The Taylor-Serrano rematch is set for May 20, but the venue is yet to be decided. Taylor’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, thinks the 8,000-capacity 3Arena is ideal. However, Taylor dreams of fighting at the 82,000-capacity Croke Park, Ireland’s national arena. Hearn would be happy to stage the fight at Croke Park, but the high costs make it a no-go; it is estimated the additional security alone would cost more than €500,000. Upon hearing that it was only money stopping Taylor from achieving her dreams of fighting in her country’s national stadium, McGregor stepped in and offered to pay out of his pocket.
“The extra security bill is 500k to have Katie Taylor fight at Croke Park? I will sponsor the event to see this happen,” McGregor tweeted. Hearn replied, “Let’s talk.”
Paul claimed McGregor was drunk when he tweeted his offer of personally funding the security bill for the Taylor-Serrano fight.
“I think it’s awesome that he would want to do that. It only makes the fight bigger if he gets involved on Katue Taylor’s side, rooting for her. I think it’s great, but behind the scenes, I don’t know if there’s been any progress with him actually doing that. I think it might have been a drunken tweet of his that he likes to do, but hopefully, he was being serious.”
Paul has a long-standing feud with McGregor and has made it clear he wants to fight him. Last July, Paul posted an NSFW tirade about McGregor, claiming McGregor spends more time cheating on his wife than he does fighting in the octagon. Paul wants to box McGregor, but such a fight seems unlikely. However, Paul has begun MMA training, so perhaps the vocal pair will eventually step into a ring and settle things once and for all.
Paul Signs with the Professional Fighters League
Earlier this year, Paul put pen to paper on a contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), a rival MMA promotional company to Dana White’s UFC. The PFL has six weight divisions plus a new “Super Fight” division that s not defined by weight but rather by the status of the individuals competing. Paul will fight in this Super Fight division. Paul revealed he and his business partner Nakisa Bidarian own an equity share of PFL and that anyone fighting in the Super Fight division receives 50 percent of all pay-per-view revenue, something that McGregor gave his two cents worth about in a now-deleted tweet.
“Numbnuts gave away 50 per cent of a future purse if he does an MMA bout? Wow. What an idiot. Joint partnership for what? For what you Wally. Wally.”
Paul is expected to make his MMA debut sometime in 2023, while McGregor is also set to return this year and compete in his first fight since breaking his leg in the first round of his rematch with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.