Jake Paul says two fights against professional boxers have fallen apart before the YouTuber’s imminent announcement.
The influencer boxer is ready to name his next opponent after recently adding five female fighters to his Most Valuable Promotions stable.
Paul has been busy outside the ring securing the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano trilogy following his dreadful effort to battle Mike Tyson. After significant fanfare, Paul vs Tyson unfolded as a one-sided bout pitting a 27-year-old against an old, worn-out ex-world champion.
Tyson could hardly move as Paul dominated the contest, even taking his foot off the gas to make it look like ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ could still compete.
Sadly, Tyson couldn’t, and Paul received significant retribution from fans and the media for the Netflix contest in November.
Since then, Paul has been on a mission to rebuild his boxing reputation by claiming events alongside Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davis were on his radar.
‘The Problem Child’ claims both bouts were close to being signed and was adamant the current world titleholders wronged him.
However, the Ohio native’s complaints don’t take into account the fact that he outweighs super middleweight [168 pounds] Canelo by almost 60 pounds [from his last weigh-in of 227 pounds] and Davis [lightweight at 135 pounds] by 92 pounds.
Despite the hard evidence that Paul is attempting to land fights with a significant weight advantage, the Tommy Fury victim continues to use failed negotiations to validate his career.
Jake Paul vs Gervonta Davis
“It was highly talked about, in negotiations, and almost ready to happen,” Paul told Fight Hub TV on the Gervonta Davis fight. “But he now has to do his rematch with Lamont and get that W, and then we can run it back. But Gervonta and I were scheduled to fight for sure.
On his next fight, he added: “We have an announcement next week. I’m not going to leak anything.
“We’ve had these fights pulled twice now at the one-yard line. First Canelo Alvarez, and now Gervonta. I’m just not going to jinx it and say anything.”
The Canelo event fell apart when Turki Alalshikh, a known condemner of YouTubers in boxing, swooped in with a far better offer.
Alalshikh gave Canelo a four-fight retirement deal worth what World Boxing News expects to be over $200 million. The first of those four events will occur on May 3, when Paul wanted to face the Mexican superstar.
Canelo collapse
“MVP was deep in negotiations for a blockbuster fight between Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas,” they said. “[It was] a massive event for the Mexican, Puerto Rican, and American fans, and it’s disappointing to see how the situation unfolded.
“MVP operates with integrity, transparency, and respect for the sport, its athletes, and the fans. Unfortunately, not everyone in the boxing world shares those values.
“This situation is a reminder not to believe everything you read, especially when the current media environment is often controlled by those with hidden agendas, including promoters with reporters on their payroll.
“We remain in active discussions with multiple high-profile opponents and are committed to delivering the biggest fights and the most exciting events and to working with partners who share our values and our commitment to boxing and its fighters.
“Jake Paul isn’t going anywhere, and neither is MVP. We’ll continue to disrupt boxing – on our terms.”
He’s undoubtedly disrupting the sport, but he seems unwilling to fight anyone in his weight class that isn’t under 58 years old.
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The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay. Learn more, and read all articles from the experienced boxing writer.
