How Did Jake Paul Become a Professional Boxer? All About the Influencer’s Life 10 Years After His Viral YouTube Career

Years after reaching viral fame on Vine and YouTube, Jake Paul became a professional boxer in 2020

Jake Paul’s career has taken him from YouTube to the boxing ring.

The content creator found fame on the now-shuttered Vine app and swiftly pivoted to YouTube in 2014, where he became widely known for his over-the-top stunts, music and vlogs about his daily life. Paul was also briefly an actor, starring in Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark alongside Olivia Rodrigo before he left the show in 2017.

Years after his YouTube fame began, Paul made a sharp turn into the world of professional boxing, making his debut in 2018 in a white-collar match, a form of boxing where participants have no prior experience in the sport. In 2020, Paul officially went pro and fought and won against legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in November 2024 in a bout that was streamed on Netflix.

“I think Mike’s gonna be strong, fast, and come out like a bull,” Paul shared in the Netflix docuseries Countdown: Paul Vs. Tyson. “And I’m gonna have to weather the storm. Out-box him.” The high-profile win may help increase Paul's boxing clout and get him closer to his goal of becoming a world champion, as he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in October 2024.

With over 20 million subscribers on YouTube, Paul now mainly dedicates his channel to behind-the-scenes looks at his boxing career. He also hosts his own podcast, BS w/ Jake Paul, and has launched several entrepreneurial pursuits and businesses, including his men’s personal care line, W, and the sports media and mobile-betting company Betr.

But how exactly did Paul transition his brand from controversial YouTube prankster to professional boxer? Now that he has taken on Mike Tyson in the ring, here’s everything to know about Jake Paul and where he is today.

How did Jake Paul start his social media career?

Paul began his social media career in 2013 when he started posting videos on the now-discontinued app Vine. By the time Vine shut down, Paul had amassed 5.3 million followers and 2 billion views on the app.

The influencer then launched his YouTube channel in 2014, where he became widely known for his prank videos, dares and music. On YouTube, Paul’s career also notably included the formation of Team 10, an influencer collective he launched in 2016.

“He took all these people on his own label and grow them out, but he’s the center of it,” Team 10 member and Paul's then-girlfriend Erika Costell told Refinery 29 in 2017, likening Paul’s vision for Team 10 to Dr. Dre’s achievements in finding and uplifting artists in the music industry.

While new members joined and others left over the years, Team 10 eventually disbanded by 2020. The group was also enmeshed in controversy over the years, including allegations of bullying and disrupting the neighborhood in which their house was located. At the time, Team 10 publicly refuted the claims there was a culture problem, and in 2017, Paul apologized following accusations that he bullied two fellow YouTubers.

Complaints about Paul’s household antics also extended to the Mayor of Calabasas, Alicia Weintraub, who publicly denounced Team 10's actions in 2020 after Paul threw a party full of unmasked attendees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of 2024, Paul continues to post on his YouTube channel, however his content has pivoted to mainly focus on his boxing career. He also hosts his own podcast, BS w/ Jake Paul, which has a separate channel for its video format.

Why did Jake Paul leave Disney?

Between 2016 and 2017, Paul had a brief acting stint on the Disney Channel.

He starred alongside Rodrigo and Madison Hu on the network’s sitcom Bizaardvark, on which he played an online celebrity, Dirk Mann. Paul regularly appeared across the show’s first season, but in July 2017, Disney announced that he would be leaving the show halfway into filming its second season.

Although it seemed that Paul left the show on his own accord and that it was a mutual decision, the news of his departure arrived after a KTLA segment reported complaints from his neighbors on his behavior and the overall disturbance from his then-house.

A month after Disney and Paul announced his departure from Bizaardvark, the content creator confirmed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he was actually fired from the show because of the KTLA report.

“They were like, ‘OK. We want to expedite this process of weaning you off the show,’ ” he said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s fine. But it’s going to look like you guys fired me.’ And they were like, ‘We can say that we mutually parted ways and blah, blah, blah.’ And that’s the reality of the story.”

How did Jake Paul start boxing?

While Paul’s pivot into boxing may have initially come as a surprise for many, the content creator has always had an affinity for sports.

In high school, Paul was a multisport athlete participating in wrestling, football and basketball. When he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment, the YouTuber acknowledged to Rolling Stone in 2021 that he consequently “sort of left sports behind” which pulled him toward boxing even more.

“I’ve always played sports and been competitive my whole entire life — I’m super competitive,” Paul told Rolling Stone. “When I moved to Los Angeles to act and make content, it was a great opportunity, but I sort of left sports behind.”

“When I got the opportunity to box when I was 21, it brought back the old Jake Paul,” he added. “It brought back the competitive, athletic Jake Paul. I just fell in love with it. When I won my first boxing match, it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

Paul made his boxing debut in 2018 in a white-collar match against fellow YouTuber Deji Olatunji. Their bout was a co-feature to Paul’s older brother Logan Paul’s fight, against Olatunji’s older brother, YouTuber KSI. Paul ended up winning the match via technical knockout in the fifth round.

In 2020, Paul made his professional boxing debut against YouTuber AnEsonGib, which he also won via technical knockout in the first round. He’s continued to participate in bouts against professional boxers over the years including Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva and Mike Perry.

In November 2024, Paul’s boxing record stands at 11-1, having participated in 12 fights with 11 wins and seven knockouts. He uses “The Problem Child” as his boxing alias.

Who is Jake Paul dating now?

Paul is currently dating Dutch speed skater and Olympic silver medalist Jutta Leerdam. Paul made their relationship official on Instagram in 2023. He posted a carousel of photos of them together captioned, “I’m Dutch now.”

The following year, Leerdam shared her concern over Paul's fight against Tyson during an episode of BS w/ Jake Paul. “I think you’re gonna win, but he is the competitor that is the most scary to me,” she said. “He’s super strong ... Of course, he’s a little bit older now, but if you’ve ever been able to do that, your body remembers that. He has that power forever."

Before starting to date Leerdam, Paul had a few high-profile relationships throughout his career.

The YouTuber had a relationship with fellow Team 10 member Costell in 2017, before announcing their breakup a year later. He also was linked to another Team 10 member, Alissa Violet, between 2015 and 2017, though she later claimed they “never officially dated” in Shane Dawson’s 2018 YouTube docuseries The Mind of Jake Paul. He also dated influencer Julia Rose.

The boxer was also famously “married” to influencer Tana Mongeau. Although the pair first sparked dating rumors in 2019, many questioned whether or not their relationship was actually real or just content material.

Related: Who Is Jake Paul's Girlfriend? All About Jutta Leerdam

Less than six months after saying “I do” Paul and Mongeau announced that they were taking a break on social media — the pair also never obtained a marriage license. “I wouldn’t change anything that happened,” Paul wrote in a 2020 Instagram post announcing their split. “We’re best friends and right now it’s best for us to focus on our lives & see what the future holds.”

Where is Jake Paul now?

While Paul is still a content creator, his career has also delved into entrepreneurial pursuits alongside boxing, YouTube and podcasting.

In 2021, he founded the boxing brand agency Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) with his business adviser Nakisa Bidarian. The YouTuber also founded a sports media and mobile-betting company, Betr, in 2022 alongside Simplebet founder Joey Levy. Two years later, Paul also launched his own men’s personal care brand, W, with products ranging from deodorant to haircare — Walmart serves as the brand’s retail partner. The brand was incubated by the YouTuber's venture capital firm, Anti Fund.

As for boxing, Paul has his eyes set on a career beyond simply winning his fight against Tyson. “The goal is to become world champion and win one of the four major belts, and that’ll happen in less than 24 months,” Paul told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in October 2024.

“After becoming boxing world champion, I’m going to become MMA world champion, and then after that, I’m going to go to the NFL,” he added. “You know, I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in the NFL, a lot of dropped passes. These guys don’t have ends, even though that’s what they get paid to do, and a lot of them are just boring. So I’m gonna bring in marketing and business and catch balls.”

Paul’s career has also notably been enmeshed in controversy over the years ranging from scam allegations to accusations of sexual assault. In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged him with violating investor protection laws by promoting cryptocurrencies without disclosing that he was sponsored to do so. Paul settled the charges for over $400,000.

The influencer also faced two sexual assault allegations in 2021, including an accusation from content creator Justine Paradise. Paul denied the allegations, and neither case went to court.

How much is Jake Paul worth?

While Paul's exact net worth isn't known, he is in the unique position of ranking on both Forbes' Top Creators and Highest-Paid Athletes lists. The publication estimates that the boxer brought in around $40 million from his three fights in 2021 alone, and netted an additional $13.6 million in the last year from his various startups and ventures.

He was ranked #13 on Forbes Top Creators of 2024 list — one spot under his brother Logan — and #46 on the 2022 World's Highest-Paid Athletes list (though he didn't make the cut for 2024).

It's still to be determined how much Paul actually raked in from his Tyson win, but the creator teased a huge payday while promoting the fight in August. “I’m here to make 40 million dollars and knock out a legend,” he said, per MMA Fighting.

When did Jake Paul fight Mike Tyson?

Paul and Tyson’s highly anticipated bout took place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on Nov. 15, 2024, and the fight streamed exclusively on Netflix for viewers to watch at home.

Their match was initially slated to take place in July but had to be rescheduled after Tyson experienced a medical issue.

At a press conference held after his win, Paul told reporters that he held back while fighting Tyson after he noticed the iconic boxer didn't seem to be "engaging" and his "age was showing a little bit."

“I just have so much respect for him and that violence/war thing between us, after he slapped me I wanted to be aggressive and take him down and knock him out and all that stuff but that kind of went away as the rounds went on," he said.

Paul added, "I tried to give the best fight I possibly could, When someone’s just surviving in the ring, basically, it’s hard to make it exciting. I couldn’t really get him to engage me or slip shots and do something super cool or whatever."