Float like a butterfly, sting like AB? Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown 'poised to announce April boxing match with YouTuber Logan Paul'

Former Pittsburgh Steeler Antonio Brown remains without an NFL team but it appears as if he is being tempted towards another sport after being heavily linked with an August boxing match against YouTube star Logan Paul.

Brown hasn't played in the NFL since being released by the New England Patriots after just one game with the team, shortly after it became known that there were sexual assault allegations against the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.

Prior to that he had signed a multi-million dollar contract with the (now) Las Vegas Raiders but was cut from the team following a series of off-field incidents, including a heated confrontation with General Manager Mike Mayock. 

And with the lack of any apparent revenue stream, it seems as though Brown - who fans know as 'Mr. Big Chest' or 'AB' - is opting to go down the celebrity boxing route, by chasing down a potentially lucrative 'fight' with internet provocateur Logan Paul.

Paul, who has, among other things, comes under criticism for filming a recently deceased corpse in a Japanese 'suicide rainforest' in Tokyo and publishing it on his video blog series aimed at young children, was part of a commercially successful (if somewhat technically inept) boxing match with fellow YouTube celebrity KSI last year, which generated revenue to rival that of some of the biggest fights of 2019.

As such DAZN, the broadcaster of that fight, appears to be upping the ante. 

Brown, for his part, has begun training for a potential April date with Paul alongside former two-time Nigerian Olympian and professional boxer Eromosele Alber.

"Antonio Brown just started boxing and we just started training together," Alber said to BoxingScene.com. "Yes, he is serious about the fight. We’re starting a training camp now. He’s a natural. He’s an athlete. It’s not a big transition. He’s going to catch up really quick.

"He needs a lot of work to get done, to correct all of his mistakes. We have three months to get ready for the fight. That’s enough time. He's in shape already. We just have to work on his technique, head movement and defense - and that should be it for him to be ready."

Paul, for his part, is confident of success.

"AB, I'll drop you quicker than the Patriots," Paul said to TMZ. "I'm f*cking serious, bro. You know how serious I take fighting.

"I love talking smack, I also love backing it up," says Paul, who holds a draw and a loss in his two boxing matches to date. "I think we might be closer [to agreeing a fight] than anyone expects, than even we expected.

"I genuinely don't know how serious AB is. Coming from a person who was in a sh*t position after Tokyo and in many ways the KSI fight gave me purpose. I think this would do that for Antonio Brown. It would give him a nice payday, give him a chance to redeem himself. It would be one of the greatest events of 2020."