Jake Paul (26, U.S.), who is active as a global “boxing influencer” on YouTube, joined the U.S. national team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Associated Press reported on the 20th (Korea time) that Paul is training with national boxers at the USA Boxing headquarters in Springs, Colorado, aiming to participate in the Olympics.
“I decided to make my influence bigger in the ring than in the ring. I will help any athlete who fights hard for their country in the most iconic Olympic Games,” Paul tweeted on his social networking service X (formerly Twitter).
For now, it has not yet been revealed whether Paul, who claimed to be a “promotional ambassador,” will participate in the Olympics himself. Since boxing was introduced as an official Olympic sport in 1904, the U.S. has ranked first in the overall rankings with a total of 117 medals, including 50 gold medals. 파워볼실시간
However, the last Olympic gold medal for the U.S. male athlete was Andre Ward (light heavyweight) at the 2004 Athens Games, as many outstanding athletes advanced to the professional stage. Since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, professional boxers have also opened the door to the Olympics, but many top boxers still do not participate in the Olympics due to the risk of injury and a tight schedule.
The U.S. boxing community is encouraged by the news of Paul’s Olympic challenge, which is very popular on YouTube. Mike McAtee, executive director of the American Boxing Association, said, “Thanks to Paul joining the national team, athletes will be able to get a chance to fight at the Olympics, the most iconic event, and build brand value.”
Paul, who has 25.5 million YouTube subscribers, is a professional boxer, actor and singer. He is 7-1 in professional boxing and has won two boxing matches with Tyrone Woodley, a former mixed martial arts UFC welterweight champion. At that time, Woodley and he made a bet that “the loser will tattoo the phrase that he loves the winner.”
He once trained with Khabib Nurmagomedov with the goal of making his mixed martial arts debut, and last year, he applied for a duel with Russian President Vladimir Putin, drawing attention. Paul is openly dating Utah Leirdam of the Netherlands, who is also familiar to Korean speed skating fans.