Jake Paul’s Hulk Hogan-inspired fight outfit for Joshua bout draws attention to Bushwick designer Benny Goldberg

Jake Paul is set to fight Anthony Joshua on Friday in a Netflix-broadcast boxing bout that has drawn attention well beyond the ring. The apparel Paul will wear in the bout was designed by Benny Goldberg, a 25-year-old Bushwick-based fashion designer whose independent label, First Draft, was tapped to create a Hulk Hogan-inspired ensemble built around rare skins and theatrical branding. The look is tailored to match a high-profile event expected to draw between 50 million and 55 million viewers, highlighting the crossover appeal of Paul’s unconventional path in sports entertainment.

Goldberg said Paul first contacted him while he was on a flight home to Michigan, with a two-month window to complete the look. The plan had originally called for a November fight against Gervonta Davis, but that bout was scrapped after Davis’s ex-girlfriend filed a civil suit alleging domestic violence. Despite the setback, Paul pressed forward with the concept, shipping alligator skin to Goldberg to anchor the design. 'To be able to share that work on such a big stage, for such a big audience, that’s what you dream of,' Goldberg told The Post. The design added a fierce, vintage-resin aura to the event, drawing on Hogan’s Harley motorcycle era and early-90s wrestling aesthetics.

The outfit is a coordinated set that includes a jacket, shorts, boots and sunglasses. The jacket sleeves feature yellow flames crafted from alligator skin, a bold nod to the fiery persona Paul has crafted for the ring. The back of the jacket is accented with a nameplate made from rattlesnake skin, another material Paul hunted for the project. The straps on the boots likewise incorporate rattlesnake skin sourced by Paul from his Georgia ranch. Paul also commissioned a pair of sunglasses—3D-printed in collaboration with Robbie Stinchcomb, the former head-designer at Brooklyn-based MSCHF—meant to evoke Hulk Hogan’s signature yellow Oakleys. The sunglasses are designed to be removed just before the opening bell. The rest of the look drew from high-end materials found in New York’s Garment District, including satin, red and yellow lambskin and leather to give the ensemble a luxurious, stage-ready finish.

The outfit’s Hulk Hogan influence is explicit. Goldberg described Hogan as a huge motorcycle rider and a touchstone for the design language, noting that vintage Harley and old NWO wrestling jackets informed the silhouette and detailing. Hulk Hogan’s legacy also informed the project’s emotional arc, with Hogan’s life and career serving as a through-line for the tribute. Hogan died in July 2025, which added a somber, commemorative layer to the collaboration that Paul and Goldberg sought to honor through the look.

Goldberg moved from Los Angeles to New York in 2025 and launched the First Draft label as part of a broader shift to the East Coast fashion scene. He said the New York environment—where designers and studios are deeply integrated with large-scale production—helped accelerate the collaboration. Beyond the Paul project, First Draft recently completed a line with the Portland Trail Blazers, underscoring Goldberg’s bid to blend couture craft with pop-culture relevance. He described meeting Robbie Stinchcomb at a Gen‑Z dinner party series as a pivotal moment that connected the fashion and entertainment worlds and helped bridge West Coast and New York design sensibilities.

Goldberg recalled that the Paul team was decisive and fast in their feedback during prototype sessions. He described Paul as someone who knows what he wants and is unafraid of pushing boundaries. 'Working with [people like Stinchcomb] and these companies in the Garment District opened my eyes to the difference between New York and LA,' Goldberg said. 'People here are ready to work. They respect the grind. It’s so much more my energy.' That energy carried into a high-stakes in-person presentation in Georgia, where Paul and Goldberg discussed the look with a live audience and fabricators. Paul reportedly was visibly excited after the reveal, telling his team that the reaction was what he had hoped for and that he was ready to fight when the bell rang.

As the Friday bout approaches, the outfit remains a focal point of the matchup’s spectacle. The jacket, which will be removed just before the opening bell, is designed so the attention remains on the ring action while still delivering a memorable sartorial moment. The Paul-Joshua fight on Netflix is framed as much by style as by sport, reinforcing Paul’s status as a cross-platform entertainer and Goldberg’s emergence as a designer able to play on a global stage. While the look is unmistakably Hogan-inspired, it also signals a broader trend in boxing and combat sports where fashion and performance intertwine to amplify a fight’s cultural footprint.

For Goldberg, the project represents a milestone in his fledgling label’s development and a personal validation of New York’s potential to nurture and accelerate creative risk-taking. 'It’s a dream scenario,' he said, reflecting on the path from LA to Brooklyn, the two-month deadline, and the chance to present his craft to a global audience. Paul’s response to the finished look—described by Goldberg as unusually enthusiastic and immediate in its alignment with Hogan’s legacy—underscored the collaborative energy that underwrote the entire production.