Jake Paul has been handed a World Boxing Association ‘title belt’ in a very surprising turn of events after attending the governing body’s recent convention in Miami, Florida. This comes in as an eyebrow-raiser for multiple fans as Jake Paul is yet to get into the meat of professional boxing despite playing six games thus far. 

The YouTuber-turned-boxer is 6-0 as a professional, having made his debut in 2020 after just one white-collar bout back in the summer of 2018. However, all of his six opponents have been a mix of YouTube stars, basketball players, and MMA legends far past their prime, as opposed to legitimate boxers, or even local American journeymen who could pose a serious challenge to him.

Adding to it, some boxing fans were irritated when footage emerged of Paul on stage with WBA president Gilberto Mendoza and legendary boxer Bernard Hopkins to be presented with a world title. Even Paul himself seemed embarrassed at the gift and awkwardly attempted to return it, admitting that he hadn’t yet earned it. However, he finished the day by saying that he will use it as a motivation. 

Hopkins hailed as one of the greatest boxers of all time, pulled Paul’s leg. He briefly took the microphone to challenge Paul jokingly to a fight, saying that he could “accommodate him very well” if he were interested in a fight for a WBA belt. However, the YouTube star eventually accepted the gift for what it was and thanked the WBA for the honor.

“I’m honored. For real, this means a lot,” Paul said while holding the belt. “I feel like I haven’t earned this yet, though. I feel like I have to actually fight for this. I don’t know, I don’t know. Thank you. I feel like you guys should hold this until I’m actually fighting for a WBA Championship. I don’t know.”

Jake Paul initially rose to fame on the popular show “Vine”, before playing the role of Dirk Mann on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark for a couple of seasons. His brother Logan Paul is also an active MMA professional, currently signed up with the WWE.