YouTube star Jake Paul has offered to fly IShowSpeed out to Puerto Rico for a footrace after betting $25,000 that he’s a faster runner than the internet-famous streamer.
Jake Paul might be known for his boxing exploits, but he’s diving into the world of track & field for his latest athletic endeavor.
It all began on an August 2024 episode of his podcast, BS w/ Jake Paul, where he openly challenged fellow influencer IShowSpeed to a race.
“I want to race Speed…in a forty-yard dash, I beat Speed,” he said. “Speed, this is the call out. …He’s not that fast.”
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It wasn’t long before Speed took notice of Jake’s ultimatum and called him on FaceTime during a live stream in September.
“You know that’s free money, right?” Speed joked, confident that he would whoop Jake in a test of speed – literally, what he’s named for.
“Yeah, for me,” Jake retorted with a laugh. “Alright, let’s do it here in Puerto Rico because I’m ’bout to start camp,” he continued. “I’ll fly you out and everything.”
“Let’s see, a free flight out and a free $25K. I’m down. Let’s go,” Speed replied.
Jake is currently gearing up for his November 2024 boxing match against Mike Tyson. Boasting only one loss in his 9-fight career, Jake has proved his athleticism time and again… but Speed is no slouch.
In fact, Speed shocked the internet after outrunning a UFC fighter in the 40-meter dash while looking him directly in the eye at Fanatics Fest mere days before Jake’s August challenge.
On top of that, he managed to have fellow streamer Adin Ross tap out in a grappling match refereed by UFC president Dana White, and even outpunched Brazilian MMA fighter Alex Pereira on a punching machine, beating him out 921 – 906 points.
He’s also known for leaping over oncoming supercars as a hobby… so it’s safe to say that Speed has what it takes to race against one of YouTube’s top athletes.
Jake is far from the first famous figure he’s challenged to a race, either. Over the last several weeks, Speed has boasted that he could beat New York Jets’ star cornerback Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner in a race, and even caught the attention of Polish Olympic runner Ewa Swoboda, who invited him to a race to see if his fast feet are the real deal.
For now, it’s unclear when exactly these two will face off with each other – but either way, someone’s walking away with a nice chunk of change.