Boxing: YouTube star Jake Paul provokes Floyd Mayweather sparking wild melee

Jake Paul (R) faces off with Floyd Mayweather and then steals his hat. Photos / Twitter

YouTube prankster turned boxing sensation Jake Paul was always going to go too far at some point — and today he did.

In Miami to support his older brother Logan as he prepares to square off with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition bout next month, Jake found himself face-to-face with the former champ at Hard Rock Stadium.

As they jawed at each other about making a fight of their own, Jake grabbed Floyd's cap off his head, saying: "Got ya hat!"

Mayweather exploded, rushing at the 24-year-old who was immediately grabbed by security as a scuffle broke out.

They were separated but as he was dragged away Mayweather's fury was on full display as he roared: "I'll kill you motherf*****! Are you crazy? I'll f*** you up, motherf*****. I don't play motherf***ing games. I'll f*** you up."

Paul appeared to have a black eye and a busted tooth in a video he posted afterwards to Instagram, but it was unclear who caused the damage.

Jake Paul (R) faces off with Floyd Mayweather and then steals his hat. Photos / Twitter

It was a bizarre turn-of-events given all involved were supposed to be there to promote Mayweather's fight against Logan Paul.

Logan was captured saying "what the f*** did he do?" as he walked away from the scene.

If you're still not familiar with the Paul brothers, they rose to fame posting prank videos on YouTube.

They've leveraged their enormous social media popularity into burgeoning boxing careers — especially Jake who is 3-0.

He defeated another YouTuber in his debut before knocking out former NBA player Nate Robinson on the undercard of Mike Tyson's return last year and then exploding as a bona fide pay-per-view star while knocking out ex-UFC fighter Ben Askren last weekend.

None of those opponents are legitimate boxers but it hasn't mattered as hundreds of thousands of fight freaks fork out the cash to catch the circus that surrounds the 178cm loudmouth.

Logan has had just one professional bout, a loss to fellow YouTuber KSI, but has landed the biggest fish in the last 20 years of boxing by getting Mayweather to agree to a fight on June 6.