The co-main event fight slated for Saturday's showdown from the Staples Center may have just as much intrigue as the big show. YouTube influencer Jake Paul is set to take on multi-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Nate Robinson in a celebrity battle over a year in the making. But instead of focusing on Robinson, who he will face on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr., Paul has begun to call out his next opponents like UFC's Ben Askren and Conor McGregor.
"I want to. I want to bring MMA fighters from the UFC over into the ring and go head to head with them," Paul told The Verge in a recent interview. "I want to prove myself, and prove how good I am at this sport. In sparring, I'm fighting pro boxers all the time. WBA champs, WBC champs. And I'm going head to head with them. So, you know, these YouTubers and celebrities and all these people can get the smoke first, and then it's on to professional fighters for sure."
Of course, Paul may not need to focus much on Robinson. While Paul has stepped into the ring both in exhibition and professional bouts, battering a pair of fellow social media influencers for TKO victories, Robinson has admitted that he had not so much as sparred until this year.
"The first time I've ever been in a sparring match, it was just eye-opening for me how tired you get at the beginning," Robinson told Insider. "It was like, 'Wow, this is what Floyd Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson go through?' You have to be in really good shape. That was the first thing, I knew I had to get in boxing shape. I could play basketball all day, football, run and soccer, but being in boxing shape is way different. I knew I had to work on a lot, and get started, so I jumped right into it."
Ultimately, the bout between Paul and Robinson feels like it has lost steam in recent months. A social media influencer battling a former NBA player on the undercard of an exhibition fight between legendary 50-year-old fighters with no fans in attendance feels tame in 2020. And the two have barely factored into the promotion for the card, with the focus on Tyson and Jones.
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That's a big change from this past November when Logan Paul battled KSI in a social media influencer bout that headlined a card in Staples Center that drew a host of celebrities and sold 216,000 pay-per-views in the United Kingdom alone.
Though the may not be the names on the marquee for this event on Saturday, Paul and Robinson will still have plenty of eyeballs glued to the screen when they step in the ring at Staples Center. Here's how you can catch all the action from the event on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Jake Paul vs. Nate Robinson viewing information
Date: Nov. 28 | Start time: 9 p.m. ET (main card)
Location: Staples Center -- Los Angeles
TV: Traditional PPV ($49.99) | Live stream: TysononTriller.com, FITE TV ($49.99)
