Jake Paul has been a very hot topic in the world of martial arts media. His ability to market himself appears to have trumped many longtime martial artists with actual skills in their respective disciplines.
One feud in particular just received another chapter – the face off youtube phenom had against one of greatest female boxers of all time Claressa Shields.
Shields has been unable to headline her own Showtime boxing event and in desperation resorted to calling out Paul and claiming she would’ve beaten him in boxing in the past.
To this Paul responded with gloating when Shields lost her first MMA fight. But things didn’t end there – thanks to Paul’s multitude of ongoing feuds Dana White got involved and so did others. Still Paul insisted that Shields’ frustration with him originated with the fact that she was unable to either headline her own card or even be on his undercard.
Shields had gloated when there were rumors of Paul fixing his matches having storied:
“It’s hilarious to see Jake get asked about the no Knockout clause,” Shields said alongside four laughing emojis.
“Say my name b****! You come for me, I come for you.
” Google ‘NDA’, it’s only a question though.”
Paul’s management hit back, declaring that she on more than one occasion asked to be involved in a card with Paul headlining.
“What’s hilarious is the multiple times you and your team tried to be a part of a Jake Paul event,” the company’s account posted.
“Time reveals all. #Receipts.”
And it appears that time has come. Leaked emails indicate that this claim is legit.
Leaked emails uncovered by USA Today Sports+ show Shields’ team trying to contact Paul’s advisor Nakisa Bidarian
In a March 15th email to Bidarian, Taffet (Shields’ manager) wrote:
“Claressa had a historic win … to become the first man or woman in the four-belt era to win an undisputed world title in two weight divisions. We are now beginning a plan for our next few fights, and would love to discuss out plan with you to see if Triller is interested in being the video platform of the world’s greatest female fighter. We would love to participate on your April 17 card if you have a slot available.”
Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian rebuffed the advance knowing that Showtime backed out of a deal with Shields over poor viewership:
“There wasn’t a business need that made sense and Jake had not started to focus on, ‘What can I do for boxing as a whole?’” Bidarian said. “Jake was still focused on building his own foothold into boxing.”
Shields doubled down when the emails leaked and claimed she was unaware her management had been in correspondence with Paul’s:
“I was never, ever supposed to fight on an undercard of Jake Paul. I don’t care what the email says,” Shields said. “I would never do that, no matter how much they’re paying me. And everything has to go through me.”