(WTRF) — YouTube star Jake Paul revealed Thursday during a press conference to promote his upcoming boxing match that he has brain damage.
Paul said he has early signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
According to the Boston University CTE Center, CTE is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma.
“I’m putting my mental health on the line. My brain is on the line. Like you said, I’ve gone and gotten brain scans and have early signs of CTE,” said Paul.
However, Paul retracted the claim in a tweet Friday, saying, “It’s a very serious condition that I should not have misspoken about.”
Paul is set to take on former MMA world champion Ben Askren on Saturday night at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. According to Yahoo! Sports, Paul was cleared to fight Friday by a doctor for the Georgia Athletic Commission.
This will be Paul’s third professional boxing match.