JAKE PAUL fears knocking out Hasim Rahman Jr will "SCARE" Conor McGregor away from fighting him.
Paul faces son of a legend Rahman on August 6 at New York's iconic Madison Square Garden.
In the build up to his sixth professional fight, he traded insults with McGregor online fuelling speculation of a future clash.
But the YouTuber-turned boxer believes if he upsets heavyweight Rahman at mecca of boxing, it could KO his dream fight.
Paul told WFAN Sports Radio: “If he’s not scared, I’m ready whenever.
"But he has his boss Dana White that’s in control of him, so he can’t make his own decisions.
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"Even if he wanted to fight me, Dana would have to approve it.
"I’m my own boss, so I can make my own decisions and can fight whenever I want.
"After I knock out Hasim Rahman Jr., Conor will be like, ‘Oh wow, this kid can really fight.’
"That’s probably going to scare him away from fighting me.”
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Paul called out McGregor in a fight he believes is worth $200m – or £170m.
But the Irishman, 34, responded on Twitter: "You’ve 2 fights and done 70k buys. You are a flop, kid. A nobody."
Paul, 25, hit back and in a brutal video claimed he made $15m alone in his last fight and has sold three million career PPV sales.
He said: "Here's another fun fact, in your 18th fight, you made $150,000. In my fifth fight, I made $15million.
"You wanna talk about pay-per-view buys? Nate Robinson, 1.8million, Ben Askren, 500,000, Tyron Woodley 500,000.
"Tyron Woodley 2 – no one even wanted to see that fight – and we got 200,000 pay-per-view buys.
"In the last five years you've had ZERO pay-per-view buys because you don't f***ing fight."
Paul's professional debut was a first-round win over online rival "AnEsonGib" on sports streaming service DAZN.
His second was against ex-NBA star Nate Robinson, 38, on Mike Tyson's comeback undercard.
His following two wins over former MMA champions Askren, 37, and Woodley, 40, were headlined by Paul himself.
And he was forced to rematch Woodley last December after Tommy Fury, 23, pulled out with a rib injury.
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The celebrity pair rescheduled for August 6 in New York but again Fury was withdrawn amid a US visa issue.
Rahman Jr, 31, who sparred Paul before the American's first two pro bouts, has filled in as a late-notice replacement.
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