4 hours ago 1

Jake Paul calls out everybody but the opponent who makes the most sense

Jake Paul beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. with ease on Saturday.

The long-time creator, an internet sensation with no amateur background, showed visible improvements against an opponent who was brought in for him to beat. Chavez is a former world champion who once went 12 rounds with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, but the 39-year-old has long had a poor attitude toward training. Prior to his 2012 loss to Sergio Martinez, he tested positive for marijuana use. He quit against Daniel Jacobs in 2019. He lost a decision to a 46-year-old Anderson Silva four years ago.

It was no surprise to see Paul beat Chavez at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Southern California, in a Most Valuable Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions joint event on DAZN.

An “average” boxer according to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn in 2022, Paul at least applies himself to training. And he looks better now than he ever has. Paul’s fiancee is Jutta Leerdam, a championship-winning speed-skater. Together, they live the life of athletes. Chavez, far more accomplished than his famous foe, would seemingly rather eat cereal in his boxer shorts than pay attention to moves his legendary father Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. tried to show him on video, back when he was in his prime.

Against Chavez, Paul beat him to the punch, most frequently with his jab, and showcased activity levels and punch combinations that were lacking from his early-career bouts when his opposition included a fellow creator called AnEsonGib or journeyman basketball player Nate Robinson.

Paul can throw a double jab now, to the body and to the head. He found the uppercut when Chavez was in close enough proximity for it to land. He absorbed all of Chavez’s punches when the former champ finally decided to throw some. He trounced Chavez with scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91 to claim a unanimous decision win.

Yet despite Saturday's latest victory, there remains plenty of much-needed development to come if Paul is going be competitive against the five-man hit-list he reeled-off post-fight, which included a former rival, boxing world champions and pay-per-view stars.

After praising his own "flawless" performance, in which he said he "embarrassed" Chavez, Paul told Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani in the middle of the ring: "I want tougher fighters, I want world champions.”

One of those world champions fought on the same card Paul headlined, as Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez came-from-behind to defeat Yuniel Dorticos on points.

"'Zurdo' looked slow as s*** tonight,” said Paul ahead of a prospective fight between them later in the year. Ramirez’s WBO championship would at least be on the line as the sanctioning body committed to reward Paul with a world ranking should he beat Chavez. “That’d be easy work.”

Paul continued: “Badou Jack. I want everybody. Anthony Joshua. Gervonta [Davis]. Tommy [Fury] — stop running."

“I’m just getting warmed up in this s***.”

When elaborating on the options backstage to reporters, Paul’s business partner and Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nikisa Bidarian noted that, "Someone like Badou Jack is someone we want to have a conversation with."

Paul, meanwhile, hinted at his motivation to take on even bigger names. “People hold the Tommy Fury [loss] against me,” he said. "I'm going to fight all of these guys. This is chapter two, moving forward."

The clear name Paul and Bidarian want to push for is Joshua.

"I'm definitely not a heavyweight but I'm still going to take the challenge," Paul said, adding that Joshua would be “an insane fight,” but is one he says he wants.

On-paper, it seems like a blockbuster in which organizers could thrash out a bout agreement relatively quickly. Joshua, after all, has been sliding into Paul’s DMs to express his eagerness at that option. The Brit also has no immediate fight obligations, and, with Tyson Fury retired, no clear rival right now outside of Deontay Wilder.

There could, though, be one stumbling block.

Matchroom boss Hearn, who is Joshua’s long-time promotional representative, said, according to Bidarian, that if Paul is serious about an AJ bout then they’d have to “do it at the end of 2025.”

But this is something Bidarian immediately shot down. “No,” Bidarian said. “Jake's going to do it on a timeline where he feels prepared to have a good chance against Anthony Joshua, and he feels that's the end of 2026."

However there is one opponent who Paul has omitted from his hit-list, who is available, and whom they could fight this year in a money-spinner.

That opponent is Wilder.

Queensberry v Matchroom Fight Night card at Kingdom Arena on June 01, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

He’s the man who makes most sense for Paul at this stage in his career if Paul is looking to do something he’s done in his previous role as one of YouTube’s most-subscribed creators and break the internet.

Wilder fought this weekend, too, albeit to less fanfare as he took on the unheralded heavyweight Tyrrell Herndon in Wichita, Kansas, and won by seventh-round knockout.

When Wilder was at the peak of his powers, he was one of the most fearsome fighters in combat sports history because he specialized in separating people from their consciousness with the most heinous of punches.

Though Wilder returned to the ring with a bang on Friday, it remains unclear what the American puncher can still offer at the elite level because of the devastating toll the Tyson Fury fight series had on him, together with subsequent losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. It’s one thing obliterating Herndon, but it’s another doing it against anybody with a top-10 ranking.

But Paul doesn’t operate on the elite level.

Like Wilder, it’s unclear if Paul can even be competitive against "Zurdo" Ramirez, let alone stand up to Joshua. That's arguably why Bidarian wants another 18 months. Not only does it provide more time for Paul to develop his boxing acumen, it also ages Joshua even more.

A Paul vs. Wilder event is a headliner in many of America’s boxing venues, from New York, where Deontay has many fans, to Florida, where there’d be little question of that commission approving of the fight, to Las Vegas. It’s also a suitable spectacle for Netflix.

Wilder’s people have even spoken about a possible fight with Paul, refusing to rule it out as an option.

Earlier this year, Wilder’s manager Shelley Finkel told Sun Sport that he’d always present such an opportunity to his client, so the 39-year-old remains in full control of his career and can weigh one option against another. “It’s his decision because it’s his life,” Finkel said.

“I might say, ‘Hey, this is a great opportunity. You may get laughed at with people thinking it’s a freak show,’ or, some might say, ‘Wow, this is interesting,’ and you know it’s a big payday.”

And, if Wilder had the decision, he might say what he’s said for much of his life: “If it makes dollars, it makes sense.”

There are few fights out there for Paul, right now, that would make more cents than Wilder.

Read Entire Article