Former UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has laughed off becoming the latest target of a farcical call-out from YouTuber Jake Paul, telling the rookie boxer to finally fight a professional on his level.
The internet celebrity is fresh off a first round KO of ex-Bellator and ONE king Ben Askren – who also tried and failed to take off in the UFC, where Cormier now acts as a pundit.
Sharing a post of Cormier's in which he said the way Paul had spoken to UFC fighter Tyron Woodley "made his skin crawl" and warned that "all these kids are going to get taught a lesson", the 24-year-old wrote: "OK, fat boy. So me vs you and [J'Leon Love] vs [Woodley]?"
Addressing the row, Cormier said on his podcast: "This dude would never fight me. I would kill him. Why would I ever fight someone like that?"
"But my immediate reaction was, ‘I can’t stand this kid.’ So it works. I can’t stand this kid. But who punches down?"
Refering to his simultaneous reign as both light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, Cormier continued:"You don’t punch down to somebody. I’m the guy that’s in the Hall of Fame. I’m the guy that won two world championships at the same time.
"What have you done to earn the right to fight me? So, no, it’s silly and stupid. But I would like him to fight Tyron. I would like to see him fight somebody more real.
"Don’t fight Ben Askren at 190, bloated. Fight a middleweight. Let me see you fight Luke Rockhold or somebody like that.
"And then I will not only say that you have base skills, I will say you’re a real fighter. Because right now, it’s all pretend."
Despite his taunts, Cormier has a certain amount of respect for what Paul has achieved so far – even though he feels he is due a rude awakening.
"It’s time to stop calling this kid a YouTuber, because the kid has the understanding and fundamentals of boxing," 'DC' pointed out.
"Are they high level fundamentals? No, but he does understand. If he continues to fight guys like this, he will continue to look as he’s looked.
"But the moment he fights somebody that has a better understanding of boxing, that combination isn’t going to land as effectively – and even if it does, he’s not gonna just be putting these dudes out.
"Guys are gonna start rolling with the punch, they’re gonna stop reacting so bad to the jab to the body."
Fight fans tried to dissuade Paul from entertaining a meeting with Cormier, with one quipping: "DC would put you in a box homie. Give him the address [and] he’ll send it back to your relatives after".
A Cormier critic informed him that he was a "washed athlete" and that "a lot of these youngsters can whoop you in the hands only format".
In disbelief, the Lafayette native replied: "I don’t even know what world I live in anymore. I honestly don’t."
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