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Jake Paul has enjoyed quite a bit of success in his short career as a pro boxer. The Disney star-turned-athlete has been in four bouts against fighters. He has fought against former UFC fighters like Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, and has remained unbeaten. His strategy of handpicking smaller fighters and non-boxers has proven to be successful so far.
But will Jake Paul stray from this tactic? He recently expressed interest in taking on pro boxer Tommy Fury for the first time in his career. But the 22-year-old boxer is still ten pounds lighter than Paul, and has fought in the cruiserweight division so far. Is that why the YouTube celebrity handpicked Fury? Will 'The Problem Child' ever choose fighters who size up against him?
On that note, here's a look at three reasons why Jake Paul may not fight a pro boxer in his weight class.
#3. Jake Paul is not a regular boxer
While Jake Paul is now a professional boxer, he is still different from regular professional athletes in the sport. He has generated immense marketability and fame in the sport, but not purely based on skill. Paul, a YouTube celebrity with more than 20 million subscribers, builds up fights by engaging in antics that go viral easily.
Therefore, he doesn't need to fight like regular professional boxers, who pick fighters in their respective weight classes. Instead, Jake Paul has the freedom to vet fighters who do not match well against him in size. These are usually non-boxers like former NBA star Nate Robinson and MMA has-beens Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. All of whom are several pounds lighter and several inches shorter than Paul.
That way, it is easy for Jake Paul to ride his hype-train and extend his win streak. After all, his marketability is bound to take a hit if he suffers a loss. In that case, his fans will see that Paul is not as skilled a boxer as he claims to be. This was mentioned by UFC president Dana White, who said:
"The media isn’t really following him as much as they did in the beginning. The shtick is getting old. I think for him to get the media back, he’s gonna have to fight somebody. They’re tired of the shtick. ‘Hey, it’s me, I weigh 190, and I want to fight these guys that weigh 170, 155, and they’re wrestling, and they’re 40 f*cking years old, and they haven’t won a fight in three f*cking years.’"
#2. 'Jake Paulers' and casual fight fans
One of the reasons Jake Paul does not need to change his strategy and take on pro boxers in his weight class is because of his current success. Fighting non-boxers and fighters below his weight has had Paul swimming in money.
He has enjoyed huge pay-per-view buys in his recent fights. Going by his pro-wrestling style trash-talking antics that reel in "Jake Paulers" and new-age fight fans, he will likely keep bagging tons of cash. It's helping him build on his legacy and earn money at the same time. So he has no reason to take on a pro boxer of his weight and risk it all.
Jake Paul's fight against Ben Askren allegedly made $75 million in revenue, with 1.5 million pay-per-views. While Paul earned $690,000 for KO'ing Askren in round one, his take-home salary is estimated to be around $10 million.
The Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight is said to have generated the second-highest pay-per-view buys in 2021. It ranked only behind the Logan Paul vs. Floyd Mayweather event. Ahead of his fight against Paul, Tyron Woodley had told the media:
"This will be the biggest pay-pay-view of the year. I said it a long time ago, people thought it was funny. No other fight this year in boxing, in MMA this year has more people wondering what the f*ck is going to happen. This is that fight. I’m telling you right now: It’s war."
Both Paul and 'T-Wood' reportedly took home at least $2 million apiece for the eight-round bout. As long as Jake Paul continues to find a market for his fights, he has zero reason to pick a pro boxer in his weight class.
#1. Jake Paul's hit-list
Jake Paul has beaten the likes of Nate Robinson and Ben Askren. Ahead of his fight against Tyron Woodley, Paul released a hit-list of names he wants to take on inside the boxing ring. The list comprises MMA legends and boxing stars that would help Paul earn more money and pay-per-views. However, none of them are pro boxers of Paul's weight class.
The list has names from the MMA community, including Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor and Kamaru Usman. All these UFC legends are known to have strong boxing games. But none of them are professional boxers. In addition, all of them are considerably smaller and lighter than Paul.
Other names on Jake Paul's list include boxing world champions, Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davis. They are the biggest names and most formidable opponents Paul has expressed an interest to fight against. While the heaviest Davis has fought at is light welterweight, Alvarez has never gone above light heavyweight in his 59-fight long career.
By making his hit-list public, 'The Problem Child' does not intend to go up against bigger pro boxing legends like Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder.
