‘The sky is the limit’: YouTube prankster-boxer Jake Paul wants championship fight with pound-for-pound great Canelo
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YouTube celebrity turned boxer Jake Paul, who has had just three professional fights, has predicted he will one day face boxing’s greatest pound-for-pound brawler Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for a sanctioned world championship belt.
Currently preparing to face ex-UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on August 28, after knocking out a contender from the MMA championship in Ben Askren earlier this year, Paul believes he is on course to be “the most disruptive boxer in the history of the sport”.
The rookie specified that this means “taking this on a fight-by-fight basis and continuing to get even bigger and take on more and more serious opponents” – and that could lead to a clash with Canelo.
“If you told me where I was going to be at three years ago, I wouldn’t believe you,” Paul told TMZ Sports.
“So I don’t even want to think about, or ‘cap’ myself, with the possibilities. I’m open-minded and I think anything is possible.
“I think I could be fighting against Canelo Alvarez for the WBC or the WBO championship belt. Why not, baby?
“A lot of people are afraid to try, they’re afraid to get up out of their seats, they’re afraid to do something different.
“But that’s them, that’s not me. I know I can accomplish anything I set my mind to, and that’s why there’s a difference between successful and non-successful people in this world.
“So really, the sky is the limit. It’s just about how seriously I take it, and I do take it seriously. More seriously than 99 percent of these ‘professional’ boxers that are out there,” he claimed.
This is not the first time that the 24-year-old has called out the 56-1-2 brawler, whose sole loss came to Floyd Mayweather in 2013, when Canelo was a similar age to Paul.
When the Mexican posted a facepalm emoji to Twitter following Logan Paul’s widely-criticized eight-round exhibition brawl against Mayweather, Jake retweeted the post and wrote: “You can’t sell PPVs [pay-per-views]. I would eat you alive.”
While Paul has shown an interest in putting MMA legend Anderson Silva on the undercard of his Woodley fight to face Roy Jones Jr, Canelo is still trying to arrange his next outing.
Respect to Anderson Silva @spideranderson on the win….vc é uma lenda brasileira! Would be an honor to have him vs Roy Jones Jr on the same card as Tyron and I
— Paul Paul (@jakepaul) June 20, 2021
After defeating loudmouth Brit Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO strap at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium on Cinco de Mayo weekend, the WBA, WBC and The Ring king wants to unify the 168 lbs division by taking on Caleb Plant, who has the only missing piece of the puzzle in the IBF crown.
“We’ve exchanged some numbers on our side and I see Canelo on Wednesday to go through everything with him,” explained Eddie Hearn – who is promoting free agent Canelo’s fights following his split from Golden Boy – on the DAZN Boxing Show.
“But nothing has changed from the process of getting an offer from DAZN, an offer from Fox, and then deciding what everybody feels is best for the fighters.
“There will be some discussions from both sides, that’s the purpose of this week, to go through the financials and then get things moving.
“But after this week you’re going to see Canelo and [trainer] Eddie Reynoso getting ready for camp, heading back to San Diego and preparing.
“Nothing’s changed: Caleb Plant is the one that everybody wants.”
Plant is demanding a $10 million payday, which is $3 million more than Saunders received for having his orbital bone broken and retiring on his stool before the eighth round.
“I got a much bigger fanbase in the United States,” he said to FightHype.com. “I do much more viewership than any of his past opponents.
“My last fight did two million views against somebody who, if I had a real name in there with me… the numbers would be outrageous.
“I got the highest watched FS1 show of all time with almost a million views.
“My viewership is up there. I got a good team around me, [headed by Premier Boxing Champions chief] Al Haymon, and they’re going to sit down real soon, and we’re going to try and get it worked out.
“I’ve got a great team around me. You don’t see anybody out with 21 fights in the position I’m in, with or without the Canelo fight.
“The viewership, what I get paid, nothing. We got a great team around me, and we’re going to do whatever we can to make that happen.”
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