Jake Paul is looking to end his rivalry with Claressa Shields in the interest of women's boxing as he looks to build the Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano fight.
The YouTube star has branded multiple-weight undisputed champion Shields as a "loser" amid a bitter feud between the pair, but believes that now it's time to bury the hatchet.
Shields, for her part, has called Paul's fights with Tyron Woodley "clown shows" and slammed the 24-year-old on a number of occasions.
But she has admitted that his efforts to push the Taylor vs Serrano fight through, with both women making millions for the bout, is good for women's boxing, and Paul now wants the rivalry finished.
"I think it's just time to squash that whole thing," Paul said at a press conference in New York yesterday for Taylor-Serrano. "We just need to push women's boxing forward.
"I think we just let things get a little out of hand and I'm mature enough to say that and I think she is as well, let's just make women's boxing better and keep on pushing it together."
Paul couldn't quite go as far as to admit to being a fan of Shields, but it does appear that the bitterness between the pair has softened, as he listed her among great female champions during a speech at the event.
And Shields has said that she does respect what he has done to help Serrano, with whom she is close friends, as well as women in the sport as a whole.
"Now, I just wish him the best," she told TMZ in an interview last week. "I wish him the best...
"If he ever wants to spar, that's up in the air, it's always an option because I do owe him a couple of blows.
"But other than that, what he's doing for Amanda is great.
"I think him getting involved and getting the fight with Katie made is great for Amanda and Katie and it's great for women's boxing.
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"So, you know I appreciate him for that."
Shields was in attendance for Paul's professional debut against AnEsonGib in 2020, where she was actually supporting Serrano who fought on the undercard.
But their relationship went bad last year when Shields pushed back at the suggestion that she would ever fight on one of Paul's pay-per-view events.
When she made her move into MMA and lost her sophomore outing, the first loss Shields had suffered in almost a decade in any sport, Paul was quick to mock her for the defeat.
She was beaten by split decision against Abby Montes, and has since set her sights on returning to the ring in an effort to beat Savannah Marshall in a massive fight later this year.
But first, Shields must get past Ema Kozin on Saturday night in Cardiff in her UK debut with a mandatory title defence.
