Having already become the butt of jokes worldwide by taking on a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, Jake Paul’s now lining up a disgraced former cyclist.
The former Disney star turned YouTuber and boxer boasts an 11-1 record in the ring, but his latest trip between the ropes ended in scorn with an uneventful and uncompetitive clash against heavyweight icon Tyson on November 15.
Now on his holidays in Abu Dhabi where he took in the Formula 1 season finale, Paul has singled-out another potential opponent.
After re-posting some images of himself cycling with girlfriend and professional speed skater Jutta Leerdam, Paul tagged Lance Armstrong and wrote ‘Lance I’m coming’.
Armstrong is still the most famous cyclist in America, despite losing his seven Tour de France wins after being convicted of doping and later banned for life.
Now attempting a career as a social media influencer, Armstrong was keen to get involved, reposting the call-out with the words ‘Child please. You’ve been looking for an ass whooping, you found your place’.
Suggesting the call-out was light hearted, Paul replied: “How many old guys have I beaten?” Before Armstrong referred to his 1996 testicular cancer recovery, finishing: “Name a date and time. My one ball and I will be there.”
Speaking a day later, Armstrong addressed the drama on his podcast saying: “I’ve gotten so many questions about this little b**** Jake Paul.
“He’s been razzing me on IG, the other day he dropped into my stories, he’s out on a bike ride… I get a lot of questions too, why is he on a bike?
“His girlfriend is an incredible Dutch speed skater and there’s a ton of crossover between speedskating and cycling, so he actually rides a lot.
“I know I just called him a little b****, but I actually quite like Jake, but I meant what I said, he’s been begging for an ass whopping.”
Armstrong, who is five years younger than Paul’s last opponent at 53, then confirmed that he’s up for a battle.
“I get a lot of questions, is it real? Is it gonna happen?” he continued. “I’ve had a lot of comments saying ‘take him down whoop his ass’.
“I don’t know if it’s real, but I hope it is. This isn’t one of those Netflix flops ‘let’s pay a legend to take a fall or not swing’ I’m not phoning s*** in, I’m coming, I’m swinging.”
However, despite putting his cards on the table, Armstrong was then quick to clarify that any contest between the pair would be on bikes, rather than in the boxing ring.
“I have a lot of respect for what he’s built, even though people poo poo it,” Armstrong said.
“I’ve been to his fight when he fought Nate Diaz, and I hope everybody’s clear that this is a bike race, because I’m not getting in the ring with that dude, there’s no way.
“You’d have to find a different dude to do the podcast because I’d never be the same.”
