After two professional fights and on the verge of his third date in a ring, the youtuber Jake Paul affirmed that he suffers the first signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Paul will face former mixed martial arts fighter Ben Askren this weekend on a pay-per-view card in Atlanta.
The claim exceeds the limits of credibility, since there appear to be no methods to make a diagnosis this early.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease that has been cited in the deaths of boxers, wrestlers, NFL players, and others who have suffered repeated brain trauma.
“It’s a dangerous sport. And so when people question my dedication to it, I try to show them every day,” Paul said. “I am putting my mental health on the line, my brain is in danger … I have gone for brain scans and I have the first signs of CTE.”
“But I love this sport and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And I’m a fighter and people will see it. Whether it’s after Saturday night or a year from now, they’ll see that I’m a boxer,” he said.
The 24-year-old then suggested he was on his way to outperforming Floyd Mayweather, financially at least.
“I’m in my third professional fight, I’m fighting eight rounds, spearheading one of the biggest pay-per-views that could happen this decade,” Paul said. “If you look at Floyd Mayweather, his third fight was six rounds, they paid him $ 7,000 and I don’t think anyone in this room has seen it.”