Ring Girl Sydney Thomas Reveals What Jake Paul Told Her at Mike Tyson Fight — and Who's Slid into Her DMs (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Sydney Thomas, Ring Girl, Jake Paul and Mike Tyson Fight.Photo:Sydney Thomas/Elevate Agency

Sydney Thomas/Elevate Agency

Sydney Thomas, the ring girl who went viral during the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight in November, is still adjusting to her newfound fame — and buddying up to celebs like Jake Paul.

“I still haven’t been able to fully wrap my head around it all,” the 21-year-old University of Alabama student tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Just the fact that I’ll go on Snapchat or something and all the news stories have my face in front of them…It’s the weirdest mind game to me.”

Thomas — who says she will return to the ring for a “bunch” of upcoming fights with Paul’s company Most Valuable Promotions — recalls the motivational message the 27-year-old boxing champ (who defeated Tyson in the Nov. 15 match) relayed to her before she went viral.

“I talked to him at the fight and he was just like, ‘Keep doing your thing,’ " Thomas shares, adding that Paul told her she was “doing a great job” in the ring at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

Sydney Thomas at Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight on Nov. 15, 2024.Sydney Thomas/Elevate Agency

And after her fame skyrocketed last month, Thomas said she’s been getting an “overwhelming” amount of DMs on social media in a post thanking fans for their support.

Thomas tells PEOPLE those DMs have come from all kinds of accounts. “There’s everything, anything from blue check marks to random people,” she spills.

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Mostly, the model and college student — who takes all of her classes online to accommodate her schedule for professional opportunities — says she gets “a lot of people trying to have a chance with me or trying to ask me on a date.”

Sydney Thomas of Elevate Agency.Sydney Thomas/Elevate Agency

But Thomas, fresh off of abreakup with her boyfriendover the summer, says she’s “so not focused on any of that right now” as she looks to continue her viral momentum from the Nov. 15 fight.

As for her next chapter, Thomas says that’s the million dollar question.

“Everyone’s been asking me what’s next, and I was never expecting this to come fall into my lap all at once, and so I haven’t really thought that far ahead.”

Capitalizing on her newfound fame has actually become “almost a stressor” for Thomas. “Now, it’s all these big life questions of like, ‘What do you want to be? What do you want to do?'”

She shares. “It’s just such big things in this world that I’m now, as a 21-year-old, having to decide all this stuff for myself…It’s a lot right now….So I’m still figuring it all out and the path I want to go on and I don’t know. I don’t know. That’s my answer.”

source: people.com