Jake Paul raises his arms in the air after his fight against Nate Diaz at American Airlines Center on August 05, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Jake Paul isn’t a very likable figure. Netflix’s documentary Untold shows how he has used that to grow his boxing career.
Jake Joseph Paul was born on 17 January 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio, in the US. He and his older brother Logan grew up playing together and recording skits.
They gained notoriety on Vine, a video-sharing platform similar to TikTok before deciding to move to Los Angeles to grow their careers as content creators.
When Vine shut down, they moved to YouTube, where Jake’s fan base would grow because of his often over-the-top and outlandish antics.
During this period, he was also looking to get into acting. He landed the role of Dirk Mann on Disney’s comedy TV series Bizaardvark.
One night in 2017, Jake’s neighbours called the police because he was disturbing the peace. This led to Disney booting him off the show. From that point, he became one of the most hated people on the internet.
In 2018, he and Logan boxed with British brothers, and fellow YouTubers, KSI and Deji. This fight would awaken a passion that lay dormant in Jake Paul.
At the time, boxing was a dying sport. People had become interested in UFC fighting and boxing heroes weren’t interesting to the public.
The KSI vs Logan Paul and Deji vs Jake Paul fights helped put the sport back on the map.
Many old-school fighters don’t like this. However, it’s important to remember boxing is also about performance— Muhammad Ali has a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Jake Paul’s image is often overshadowed by the many controversies he and his brother have attracted. The documentary highlights the human behind the image and how the negative press affected him towards the end of his YouTube career.
On it, Logan admits he and his father were concerned Jake would commit suicide and tells how he was months away from being broke.
However, when Jake discovered boxing, he found a place where he could use his bad image to succeed.
Jake’s boxing name is The Problem Child. So far, his stats are six wins to one loss. He has fought many UFC champions and knocked them out.
However, some sports commentators disapproved of Jake promoting himself as a boxer and were only willing to recognise him as such once he had fought a professional. So, he took on Tommy Fury.
The Furys are a family of boxers. Tommy’s brother is the respected Tyson Fury and their father is the legendary John Fury. Tommy began boxing when he was six years old, trained by his father. Jake fighting Tommy would help him gain recognition as a boxer.
The Problem Child lost the fight — but this was in no way a defeat. Fury won by split decision. Jake put up an incredible fight, especially as he had been boxing for only three years and Fury all his life.
The documentary allows us to see Jake Paul as a human being beyond the troublemaker. It tells of his ambition to create a fighter’s union and put women’s boxing on the map.
His business mind is also a key point. Jake Paul is self-promoted and has been able to use a bad image to his benefit. Love him or hate him, he’s doing a lot for boxing and he’s found what makes him happy. You can’t knock someone for that.
Untold: Jake Paul is showing on Netflix