JAKE PAUL is in line to earn his biggest boxing payday against Anderson Silva… but has NO backup in case the UFC legend pulls out.
Paul returns next weekend in Arizona, ending his ten month hiatus from the ring following a series of cancelled bouts.
But the YouTuber-turned boxer, who is training in Puero Rico, expects it will be worth the wait, believing a career-high purse is coming his way.
Paul, 25, told SunSport: “Hopefully it does well.
“I think it will the numbers are all showing that. So yeah, this could definitely be my highest payday.
“I haven’t really focussed on that, even saying that is one of the first times I’ve even thought about it.
“Just because of how much the fight means and how focussed I am and how big the challenge is at hand.
“The payday is just the cherry on top for the opportunity at hand.”
It was revealed last year Paul made £30MILLION from boxing alone, averaging £10m a fight.
And he predicts 700,000 pay-per-view buys for the toughest fight of his career against Silva, 47, which makes around £45m in box office receipts alone.
Paul last fought in December, knocking out Tyron Woodley, 40, four months after beating the ex-UFC champion on points.
That added to KOs over online rival “AnEsonGib, ex-NBA star Nate Robinson, 38, and retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren, 38.
Woodley only filled on under two weeks notice after Tommy Fury, 23, pulled out of his grudge match against Paul with a rib injury.
The celeb mega-fight was rescheduled for August in New York – but that was soon KOd when Fury suffered US visa issues.
Heavyweight Hasim Rahman Jr, 31, signed as a substitute, only for lightening to strike twice, this time due to a weight disagreement.
Rahman has since gained almost 500,000 Instagram followers and headlines on November 19 against MMA veteran Vitor Belfort, 45.
That comes after just being associated with a fight against Paul, leaving the American sick and tired of rivals profiting from his name.
He said: “We’re done with the backup thing. Last event proved that is a nightmare, Tommy pulled out and the backup was Hasim.
“Now Hasim is super famous when nobody knew who he was, now he’s all over the place, he’s damn near a household name because of that whole situation.
“Then the ‘backup guy’ bailed out and ruined everything. So we’re done with the backup s***.”
