How would Jake Paul fare against full-time boxers like Ryan Garcia or Gervonta Davis? Exploring if 'The Problem Child' is really as good as they say

Jake Paul's boxing record has been scrutinized from the moment he first debuted as a boxer, and there's good reason for this. 'The Problem Child' built his career off facing over-the-hill and undersized MMA fighters, almost none of whom were great strikers in their own sport, let alone boxing.

But in recent months, Paul has declared his new goal to one day crown himself a world champion boxer. To that end, he has focused on fighting actual boxers. His first attempt saw him take on Tommy Fury, to whom he lost a competitive split decision.

He followed that up with a tune-up fight against Nate Diaz before facing an experienced, albeit low-level, boxer in Andre August, who he knocked out in round one. So how would he do against a boxer of Ryan Garcia's caliber or a more terrifying foe like Gervonta Davis?

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Analyzing Jake Paul's opponents in boxing

Jake Paul's first two professional boxing bouts are of no importance. He TKO'd a YouTuber in AnEsonGib, then knocked out a basketball player in Nate Robinson. Both opponents were complete novices. His first true claim to legitimacy came against Ben Askren, a former world champion MMA fighter.

Ahead of their matchup, much was made about Askren being the first proper fighter that Paul would face. But the truth of the matter is that 'Funky' would have never won that fight. While he was an MMA fighter, he was only ever a one-dimensional wrestler with even worse striking than Demian Maia.

To throw Askren into a boxing ring was to deprive him of the only useful skills he had as a fighter: wrestling. He just couldn't throw a decent punch. Furthermore, when he boxed Paul, Askren was 36 years old, much smaller, and coming off major hip replacement surgery. Naturally, 'The Problem Child' knocked him out.

Check out Jake Paul knocking out Ben Askren:

Afterward, he twice faced Tyron Woodley, a former UFC welterweight champion. At first glance, Woodley appeared to be a dangerous foe due to his well-known punching power. However, he was never a decent striker to begin with, not even in MMA. Knockout power be damned.

As a fighter, Woodley was an extremely limited counterpuncher who backed up in a straight line in an ill-fated attempt to draw his opponent toward an overhand right. In MMA, he benefitted from his elite-level wrestling and strong low kicks to keep far better strikers from overwhelming him.

Though over time, with Woodley abandoning his wrestling and low kicks, he became easier to pressure to the fence. All he had at that point was an overhand right. He didn't throw in combinations. He didn't throw anything else. It is easy to see why then, that he left the UFC on a four-fight losing streak.

In boxing, there is no takedown or low-kick threat. All he had was an overhand right, linear footwork, and a disastrous habit of ceding space and doing nothing else. He was also 39 years old and much smaller than Paul. His losses were unsurprising. Woodley was never a boxer. Not a good one, at least.

Check out Jake Paul knocking out Tyron Woodley:

Afterward, 'The Problem Child' took on the legendary Anderson Silva, who had dazzled the MMA world for years with his striking wizardry. Again, on paper, it seemed like a dangerous matchup for Paul, especially with 'The Spider' having styled on former WBC middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr.

Unfortunately, Chávez has struggled significantly with his mental stability. So how good was the win in retrospect? Furthermore, Silva had long been figured out in MMA by then. While a great striker in his heyday, he had massive flaws first exposed by Chris Weidman.

Silva fought with his hands low at waist level to entice his opponent into attacking a seemingly open target. If that didn't work, he had a bag of feints and movements to frustrate his foe. Once they'd commit to a punch, he'd lean back at the waist and sting them with counters. This, however, made him vulnerable to straights.

Check out Jake Paul dropping Anderson Silva:

In particular, doubling and tripling one's jab or straight against Silva forced him to lean so far back that were he to lean away any further, he'd fall over. In short, it left him with nowhere to go and in the worst position to absorb blows. Paul made him pay for this, just like seven of his last 9 opponents in MMA.

In addition, Silva was 47 years old with 24 years worth of wear and tear from fighting. Paul won the fight because he should have. His subsequent loss to Tommy Fury, a fresher and more mobile boxer who forced him to chase him in straight lines only to be stung by jabs, was telling.

Check out Jake Paul's knockdown of Nate Diaz:

His tune-up fight against Nate Diaz was yet another bout with an undersized, over-the-hill MMA fighter whose only moral victory was not getting knocked out. As for Andre August, no one had ever confused him for anyone of any decent skill. He was tense and nowhere near world class.

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Analyzing Jake Paul's skill-set and how he'd do against Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis

Not much needs to be said about Jake Paul's skills as a boxer. He fights from a bladed stance, keeping his feet fairly wide, which enables him to dart in and out of range quickly and with a lot of weight behind his punches. However, this also limits much of his footwork to linear movements; he tends to only move in straight lines.

As a result, he struggles to cut off his opponent's angles of escape, as evidenced by his frustrations against an opponent with good lateral footwork like Tommy Fury. Still, his linear movement lends itself to his jab, which he executes with proper technique by stepping in with the punch.

Paul also uses the jab correctly as a measuring tool. In short, if he can hit his opponent with his jab, then he can hit his opponent with his rear hand, his right hand. His money-making punch is the overhand right, where he carries most of his power. But on occasion, he will throw a rear uppercut.

Against Andre August, he picked up on his foe's low stance and tendency to duck under his jab. Thus, as any competent boxer would, Paul faked the jab to trick August into ducking into a rear uppercut, knocking him out cold.

Check out Jake Paul knocking out Andre August:

Additionally, he has a decent lead left hook. But there isn't much else to say about his boxing skills. He doesn't generally move his head off the center line, as even Ben Askren could land a stiff right hand on him. He also steps in too deep with his punches, making him susceptible to getting countered.

So, is he a good enough boxer to beat Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis? Absolutely not. Garcia has his own flaws, like his tendency to drop his rear hand from his chin when throwing his lead left hook, which often exposes his chin. However, 'King Ryan' is still a far better boxer than Paul.

This is even more pronounced with 'Tank,' a pound-for-pound great with crushing power and a high fight IQ. Paul isn't anywhere near the caliber of boxer that either man is, and he will never be. Unfortunately, he doesn't have to be to beat them. He is simply far too big and powerful.

When Garcia and Davis squared off, they did so at a catchweight of 136 pounds. Meanwhile, Paul fights between 185 and 200 pounds. He is just too big, too powerful, and has enough of a grasp on the fundamentals that one good punch could shut either man's lights out.

For example, his older brother, Logan Paul, fared far better than expected against one of the greatest of all time in Floyd Mayweather, simply by using his size. 'Maverick' is a much worse boxer than his younger brother, with none of the skill or power, yet he managed to stifle Mayweather, the master of masters, with size.

He didn't win, of course, but he did much better than he was predicted to because of his size. Like his brother was for Mayweather, 'The Problem Child' just might be too big for either Garcia or Davis to style on and hurt.

Worse still, he might be too powerful that he could land a one-hitter quitter even while getting schooled by either man. There are, as is often said, weight classes for a reason.