Jake Paul’s promotional pitch for his fight Friday night is reasonable.

The master marketer isn’t trying to sell Andre August as even a fringe cruiserweight contender. August is simply someone with more experience than him, the type of opponent Paul should’ve been boxing during the developmental phase of his career.

The 26-year-old Paul appreciates that his fan base and immense influence on social media have enabled him to headline pay-per-view events against three of UFC’s most successful fighters and the younger brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. If Paul is to get where he is hellbent on going, however, he’ll have to take incremental steps against “real boxers” to become a ranked cruiserweight contender.

August, 35, is a six-rounder fighter without any name recognition, but just the type of foe Paul wants to box during that process. The eight-round cruiserweight clash between Paul (7-1, 4 KOs), of Westlake, Ohio, and Houston’s August (10-1-1, 5 KOs) is the main event of a four-fight show DAZN will stream worldwide from Caribe Royale Orlando, a resort in Orlando, Florida (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT).

“Look, I respect Andre as a fighter,” Paul said during a press conference Wednesday. “Three-time Golden Gloves champion, more experience, more knockouts. He’s strong, powerful, throws good combinations, so it’s gonna be a war. But I just believe I’m more skilled. I’m gonna pick him apart and show the world that I’m the better boxer at the end of the day. And looking for that knockout. You know, it’s been too long without a knockout, so I’m gonna try to deliver that for the fans at home.”

Facing August, whose lone loss came by technical knockout against an opponent with a 3-3 record, is a complete departure from Paul’s approach since he made his pro debut in January 2020. He fought fellow influencer Ali Eson Gib in his first fight, former NBA point guard Nate Robinson in his second bout, then four former UFC fighters in a row (Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley twice, Anderson Silva), Tommy Fury and another former UFC star, Nate Diaz.

August is the first low-profile professional boxer Paul has been scheduled to face. Each of his past six fights have headlined pay-per-view shows, but DAZN will stream Paul-August to its viewers as part of their subscriptions.

“Look, you know, the biggest criticisms are, ‘Fight a real boxer. Fight someone with more experience [than] you. Fight a real fighter,’ ” Paul said. “You know, all of these things. And it’s time to answer that. It’s time to show up, put it all on the line, take those risks. And all the influencer sh!t, the MMA sh!t is cool. It draws big pay-per-views, it’s fun, it’s super entertaining, there’s more, you know, sh!t talk. But none of that was really my goal. I generated $250 million in pay-per-view revenue. Right? So, that’s cool. But money doesn’t create legacy, and for me, this is my road to world champion.

“And it’s about getting the experience under the bright lights to be able to compete actually at the highest, highest level. And to win and to do the unthinkable and to create one of the greatest sports stories in the history of sports. To go from Disney channel to world champion in less than six years, that is why I’m here. That is why we’re doing this and that’s what this is all about for me. And this is the next step, and I think, you know, getting the experience with a guy like Andre is important for that journey.”

The co-feature before Paul-August will match Franchon Crews-Dezurn (8-2, 2 KOs, 1 NC), a former undisputed women’s super middleweight champ from Baltimore, against Shadasia Green (13-0, 11 KOs), of Paterson, New Jersey. They’ll fight for the vacant WBC 168-pound crown in a 10-round bout.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.