Say what you will about YouTuber and part-time boxer Jake Paul: he’s brash, overconfident, and fights washed-up athletes and calls himself a boxer. But despite all that, he’s got some pretty down-to-earth perspectives on life and culture at large.
On Friday night, Paul fought 58-year-old former heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson. I say “fought” loosely, because the whole thing was boring and barely involved any action. However, someone had to emerge victorious, and Paul eventually won by unanimous decision.
After the fight, Paul was asked how the victory felt to him. Instead of gloating about his win, he took the moment to give special recognition to countless Americans.
Great statement from Jake Paul pic.twitter.com/0pDR7Ui3ci
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 16, 2024
“This night’s not about me, man. I want to give a thanks to all the real heroes: the U.S. military, the doctors, the nurses in the ER, the cops, the firefighters, the farmers, the truck drivers, all the people that make this world go around," he said.
After that surprisingly wholesome shoutout to pretty much every hard-working American, he said that he was stoked about the cultural shift that is taking place.
“Thank you America, it's the era of truth. It's the era of good. There's a shift in the world and good is rising and truth is rising. I'm just honored to be a part of America and it feels like we’re back, baby,” Paul concluded.
There’s a saying: “Never judge a book by its cover.” If I looked at Paul and saw the “cover” of his life, I might write him off as some punk who has no aptitude to think about anything on a deep level. But after what was the highest-profile fight of his life, Paul took the time to provide one of the most thoughtful cultural statements I’ve heard from an athlete in a long time.
I didn’t wake up this morning expecting to respect Jake Paul for anything in particular, but I guess that’s changed.
Follow MRCTV on X!
NBC's "Law & Order" took on the Israeli-Gaza conflict last night, showing sympathy for a pro-Hamas protester who is in danger of being deported.https://t.co/eDkT5bVo9U
— MRCTV (@mrctv) November 18, 2024