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At least one oddsmaker seems to have the matchmaking itch.
Online gambling site sportsbetting.ag instituted odds Sunday for a make-believe fight between YouTuber-boxer Jake Paul and NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Not surprisingly, the 24-year-old Paul (5-0, 4 KOs), who has been actively reinventing himself as a prizefighter for the past year, opened up as the +300 betting favorite, with a +240 return on the 33-year-old Brown, who has never had a professional fight.
The hypothetical bout would have to take place before December 31, 2022 for action.
The strange pairing was surely inspired by social media reaction after Brown’s recent bizarre on-field antics last Sunday. During a game between Brown’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets, a visibly frustrated Brown beat a path for the exits when the Buccaneers were down 24-10. Brown stripped off his pads and walked off the field shirtless, waving the peace sign to the fans on the way out.
Immediately after the incident, social media blew up with many observers cracking that Brown would share a ring with Paul before the end of the year, a nod to the burgeoning number of oddball circus matchups that the boxing world has seen materialize in the past year. In that sense, a Paul-Brown contest would fit right in with recent programming.
Moreover, there’s already plenty of history between the two figures. Paul’s brother, Logan Paul, was involved in a social media tiff with Brown in 2020, leading many to speculate that the two would duke it out in the ring. Brown tweeted at Logan to “square up,” prompting Paul to fire back, “I’d drop you faster than the patriots,” in reference to Brown’s fiasco with his then team. Logan later came out and said that a fight with Brown was “never happening,” and that “that dude needs help.”
The oddsmakers, in any case, have listened to the takes on social media. Since sportsbetting.ag’s line on the fantasy bout, BetOnline.ag, another major online bookie, has also followed suit.
The talented Brown has a history of strange behavior and misconduct throughout his NFL career, including misdemeanor charges and sexual assault allegations. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said after the Jets game, which the Buccaneers ended up winning in a comeback, that Brown was “no longer a Buc.”
The equally polarizing Paul has had a successful 2021, capped by his stunning one-punch knockout of former MMA champion Tyron Woodley in their rematch on Dec. 18 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Paul has repeatedly called out other MMA stars to face him, going so far as to troll UFC’s Dana White into loaning his fighters.