Boxer Jake Paul confessed that proposing to his girlfriend, Jutta Leerdam, was a more anxiety-inducing experience than any of his boxing matches, admitting he needed a strong whiskey for courage.
The athletic duo publicly confirmed their relationship in April 2024 and have grown stronger together ever since.
Paul proposed to Leerdam in March while on a romantic trip to St. Lucia, kneeling before a picturesque lake backdrop. The internet sensation turned professional boxer, boasting an impressive record of 11 wins in 12 fights, candidly stated that no opponent in the ring has ever made him feel as apprehensive.
He humorously remarked that he needed “Dutch courage” for the moment, advising, “By far I was way more nervous to propose than for any fight. So yeah, to all the men who are getting ready to propose, some whiskey before it`s very helpful.”
The cruiserweight boxer began his relationship with the acclaimed speedskater Jutta mere months after experiencing his sole professional loss to date, a split-decision defeat against Tommy Fury. He also shared that the Dutch Winter Olympian played a significant role in helping him recover from that boxing setback.
Paul recently became an uncle in September when his brother Logan Paul and his Danish supermodel fiancée, Nina Agdal, welcomed their baby daughter, Esme. While Paul intends to start his own family, he stated he would wait until Jutta has competed in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
The engaged couple manages a long-distance relationship, with their rigorous training schedules keeping them separated by more than 4,000 miles. Jutta, 26, trains in her native Netherlands, while Paul, also 26 and originally from Ohio, has moved to Puerto Rico, where he utilizes a custom-built, £3 million gym.
On the Caribbean island, where he resides in a £13 million mansion, Paul trains with his dedicated team, including renowned conditioning coach Larry Wade.
Paul described Wade`s training intensity: “His track workouts are absolutely brutal, long runs, sprinting. Not a lot of breaks. It`s hot in Puerto Rico and muggy. So you really find out who you are, like I said, in those moments and I just have that voice while I`m running that`s wanting to quit but you just have to push through that. And I think that`s the art of fighting and in the ring you have those moments where your body is telling you to give up but you just have to push to the next round and keep going.”
Paul is set to return to the ring on June 28 in California, facing 39-year-old former middleweight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, with the fight airing live on DAZN PPV. This bout marks his return to the cruiserweight division, following his controversial heavyweight fight in November against Mike Tyson, who made a comeback at 58.
Capitalizing on the massive 100 million viewers for his Netflix event, Paul initially aimed for high-profile fights against Canelo Alvarez, 34, or Gervonta Davis, 30. However, when those plans fell through, he settled on Chavez, the son of Mexican boxing legend Julio Cesar Sr, who himself lost to Canelo on points in 2017.
Paul explained his opponent selection process: “I wanted the hardest and the biggest fights, which was first Canelo then Gervonta fell through. And then at any given point in time we`re negotiating or talking with five to six fighters to see who`s down and ready to fight and making a date happen. So really it`s just the long line and I just need more time but I`m gonna get to all of these names when the stars aligned.”
Oliver Croft