Boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has already made it clear several times that he has no interest in meeting Jake Paul in the ring. This fact hasn’t stopped Paul from calling for the fight repeatedly, including before and after this past weekend’s lackluster blockbuster against 58-year-old Mike Tyson.
“Me vs. Canelo at 200 pounds for the cruiserweight championship of the world is the biggest fight, arguably even bigger than me vs. Tyson,” Paul said on the Timbo Sugar Show before the Tyson fight. “It makes so much sense. Canelo is on his way out. He’s going to want a payday and I want to show the world all the sh*t I’ve been talking about beating Canelo is actually true and I’ll have the biggest upset in the history of boxing.”
Of course, there is no cruiserweight world championship currently vacant, with all four recognized world titles being held by different men. That does present at least one additional wrinkle to Paul’s idea of facing Alvarez for “the cruiserweight championship of the world.”
Earlier this year, Alvarez said there was no chance he would ever fight Paul, saying it would be “bad for boxing.” Still, Paul called for the Alvarez fight again after beating Tyson by decision in a fight that streamed live on Netflix and drew massive mainstream attention.
As with most things Paul does or says, yet another Alvarez callout drew plenty of criticism. However, the brash 27-year-old may have a point in one particular post-fight comment.
“Everyone’s biggest critique is fight a pro, fight someone your age,” Paul said. “So when I say ‘Canelo’ is the person, then everyone hates on that. What do you want? Do you want me to fight someone, like people want to see me lose. So wouldn’t the best opportunity to see me lose be going up against ‘Canelo?'”
Paul’s career exists in a wholly unique space. He has made tens of millions of dollars in the ring facing mostly former UFC stars and now a 58-year-old Tyson. There have been constant calls for Paul to “face a real boxer” all along the way.
Paul suffered a mildly controversial split decision loss to Tommy Fury in his first fight with a boxer with any real experience, though he did knock down Fury during the fight. He defeated UFC legend Anderson Silva, who entered the fight with some boxing experience, including a win over former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. And Paul also scored a pair of first-round knockouts of Andre August and Ryan Bourland, club-level boxers who would have been entirely appropriate opponents for a fighter with Paul’s boxing experience but whose lack of name value drew less interest and, yes, more criticism.
Where’s the harm in Paul calling out Alvarez? He is correct that large chunks of the audience are watching the fights in hopes of not just seeing him lose, but lose badly.
If Paul calls out other retired fighters or former UFC stars, it will be met with deserved criticism. If he were to call out someone like WBC No. 10 ranked cruiserweight Thabisho Mchunu, a two-time world title challenger, the intended audience for Paul’s fights wouldn’t care and would assume Paul was fighting a “nobody.”
Maybe Paul is serious about wanting a fight with Alvarez and maybe he’s just making noise. Yes, Alvarez would almost certainly make light work of someone as raw and inexperienced as Paul. But it makes more sense for Paul to be calling for big fights with relevant boxers, calling their bluff on the claims that he’s “not a real fighter.”
Even the greatest women’s boxer in history has jumped on board this line of thinking.
“Which one of you guys who Jake Paul is calling out — and I’m even going to say this for the king, Canelo — if Jake Paul is calling you out talking about he can beat you in a fight, why won’t you just whoop his ass,” Claressa Shields said after Paul’s win over Tyson. “‘He hasn’t earned a fight with me. He isn’t that great. He’s not a real boxer.’ Well show him he’s not a real boxer. Shut him up. He made $40 million and Tyson made $20 million. Hey, if they’re going to pay Canelo that kind of money for a guy they say can’t fight and is not a good boxer, come on now.”
Of course, there were a few elite fighters who did call for a fight with Paul, including undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterviev.
If Paul can’t get Alvarez in the ring and is serious about facing the biggest challenges possible, he could do much worse than taking Beterbiev up on his offer. Although there’s no chance Paul would be able to cut to 175 pounds to challenge for Beterbiev’s four world titles, there’d be no doubt Paul would be facing a serious challenge from the unbeaten champ.
The other big call for a fight with Paul came from IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, according to a screenshot of a DM Paul shared after the Tyson fight.
“Hi Jake, good business on the weekend but how would you feel fighting for the legitimate heavyweight championship of the world this is Daniel Dubois calling you out,” the message read. “Let’s get it on.”
Paul responded, taking a shot at Beterbiev in the process.
“Man been boxing for 12 years, has over 100 fights between amateur and pro and fought on my undercard…hahaha,” Paul wrote. “But f— it…I’m going to have Nakisa talk to Frankie Warren and get you in line for the throne. Unlike Artur, at least you have a few thousand fans.”
Paul isn’t likely to stop calling out Alvarez but if a championship-level challenge is what he wants, those opportunities may be opening up.
