JAKE PAUL is afraid that knocking out Hasim Rahman Jr. will "SCARE” Conor McGregor from fighting him.
Paul will face Rahman, son of a legend, on August 6, at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr. ahead of their fight
Conor McGregor and Jake Paul have exchanged words online
He had an online argument with McGregor, fuelling speculation about a future fight.
The YouTuber-turned boxer believes that if he beats heavyweight Rahman at the mecca of boxing it could be his fight of dreams.
Paul said to WFAN Sports Radio, "If he isn't scared, I am ready whenever."
"But he has Dana White, his boss. He's in charge of him so he can make his own decisions.
"Even though he wanted me to fight him, Dana would have had to approve it.
"I am my boss. I can make my own decisions. I can fight whenever I want.
Conor will think, "Oh wow, this kid really can fight after I knock out Hasim Rahman Jr."
"That's likely to scare him away, from fighting me."
Paul called McGregor out in a fight that he believes is worth $200m or PS170m.
The 34-year-old Irishman replied to Twitter, "You've done 70k buys and 2 fights." You're a failure, kid. You are a nobody.
Paul, 25, retaliated and claimed that he had made $15m in his last fight alone and has sold three millions of PPVs.
He stated that he had just learned another interesting fact: In your 18th fight you earned $150,000. In my fifth fight, $15million was earned.
"Would you like to talk about pay per view buys?" Nate Robinson, 1.8million, Ben Askren, 500,000, Tyron Woodley 500,000.
"Tyron 2 - No one wanted to see that fight. We got 200,000 pay per view buys.
"You don't f***ing fight, so you have zero pay-per-view purchases in the last five years."
Paul's professional debut was a win over "AnEsonGib", an online competitor, on DAZN's sports streaming service.
His second came against former NBA star Nate Robinson (38), on Mike Tyson’s comeback undercard.
Paul was the headliner of his victories over Woodley (40), and Askren (37), former MMA champions.
He was forced to rematch Woodley after Tommy Fury, 23 pulled out with a broken rib.
The celebrity couple was rescheduled for 8/8 in New York, but Fury was again withdrawn due to a US visa issue.
Rahman Jr., 31, sparred Paul prior to the American's first pro bouts. He has now been replaced by a late-notice replacement.
Jake Paul & Hasim Rahman Jr. have sparred before
