Jake Paul made headlines immediately after his brother Logan lost a close decision to KSI last year in Los Angeles. Immediately after the fight, Jake told the assembled media in the press room that boxing is rigged and people get paid under the table. 

When asked under cooler circumstances if he wanted to back off the statement — considering he’d be fighting in a pro bout himself this week — Paul offered the following to BoxingScene.com. 

“I said boxing is rigged because of a lot of other reasons,” said Paul. “If there is a huge fight on the line, and it can sway how much millions of dollars are made in the sport, and if it goes to the judges, the judges are going to be in favor of the guy who’s making the sport millions and millions of dollars. That’s just how it is … I’m the A-side, contractually. I’ll always be the A-side.”

Paul will be making his pro boxing debut Thursday in Miami when he fights fellow content creator AnEsonGib. The Matchroom Boxing promoted fight will serve as the co-main event to the Demetrius Andrade versus Luke Keeler fight on DAZN.

“This fight is about showing the world whatever you throw at me, whatever you want to say about me, push me down with or label me as, I’m going to overcome and be better than that,” said Paul. “This isn’t a one-off stunt. I’m in love with the sport of boxing. I caught the boxing bug. I want to keep on fighting. I have a target list of people I want to fight, and I’m going to knock them out one by one.”

Paul has been training with Hall of Fame fighter turned coach “Sugar” Shane Mosley in Big Bear, Calif. in preparation for the fight.

“Shane Mosley is teaching me how to be a f------ champion. He’s like Yoda, and he’s showing me the f------ way,” said Paul. “[The hardest part about being a boxer] is not being able to party … There are no clubs in Big Bear. Coming from a lifestyle where, like, partying is such a thing, being a YouTuber, being an actor, being in the Hollywood nightlife scene, celebrities everywhere … the hardest part is putting the fun aside. I have access to a lot of fun.”

Paul described his fighting style as come forward, aggressive and throwing plenty of hard punches. He asked that fans give the recent trend of YouTubers fighting in pro boxing matches a second look.

“Give it a chance,” he said. “We’re putting in the work. We respect the sport of boxing. We love the sport. I’m a boxing fan. I understand why people would be skeptical. I would be too. I would want to protect the sport. It’s an honor to be on the card with world champions. I’m so grateful.”

Paul’s fight will be taking place on Super Bowl weekend. Should he pull off the victory, he’s already envisioning the celebration.

“I’ve been a huge football fan my whole life,” said Paul. “I’m going to get that win on Super Bowl weekend and then go streak down the field.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.