YouTube star-turned-pro boxer Jake Paul has levied a shocking accusation toward 50-0 champ Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, claiming the boxing legend had put a ‘hit’ out on him due to his ‘Gotcha Hat’ stunt in May.
Jake Paul is the self-proclaimed ‘Problem Child’ of the internet for a reason. Aside from his career as a bombastic YouTuber, Paul isn’t shy of calling out anyone and everyone in the combat sports world for a potential bout — even to the point of putting himself in harm’s way.
In May of this year, Paul notably sauntered up to Floyd Mayweather just after his press conference with older brother Logan Paul, who Mayweather was set to face off with in a month’s time.
In true ‘Problem Child’ fashion, Jake snatched the hat from Floyd’s head, chanting, “Gotcha hat!” — a phrase he almost immediately emblazoned onto merchandise that fell into the hands of fans around the world.
“Got your hat!”
Floyd Mayweather & Jake Paul got into a scuffle at the #MayweatherPaul press conference 🤯pic.twitter.com/uFEueh6FWk
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 6, 2021
Their ensuing scuffle resulted in a massive brawl that had Mayweather claiming he would “kill” Jake over his hat stunt.
During an episode of the NELK Boys’ FULL SEND podcast on September 8, Jake alleged that Mayweather had actually hired “gangsters” to “kill” him as a result of his taunting.
Jake Paul instantly launched merchandise with the phrase “Gotcha hat!” after his scuffle with Mayweather.
“He was trying to get me killed behind the scenes, for sure,” Jake claimed. “He was calling, like, ‘the gangsters,’ because we were in Miami at the time. He was, like, calling the ‘street people,’ ’cause my security is tapped into the street people.”
“They were like, ‘Yo, you guys gotta be f**king careful. He’s trying to do something,’” he continued. “So, whatever the f**k that meant, or means. … I was like, ‘Alright, if this is how I die, this is how I die.’”
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Shortly after Jake’s scuffle with Mayweather made headlines, Logan claimed in a subsequent interview that he’d upped his security due to the champ’s threats, posting bodyguards around them “everywhere at all times.”
Jake has just come off his split-decision victory against Tyron Woodley and is currently seeking a fight with Tommy Fury… but there’s no telling if another bout between Mayweather and another Paul brother will happen someday in the future.