By: Sean Crose
The truth is that Jake Paul is a fighter to be taken seriously. Never mind the antics. That’s salesmanship. Behind the bluster there’s a serious if not great fighter determined to make his mark on the sport. Although Paul’s fight against Julio Caesar Chavez this past weekend was a far cry from Hagler-Hearns, it showed Paul’s growth, even facing an opponent who didn’t want to fight for close to half the bout (How many more big money fights will Chavez Jr continue to accumulate for himself, anyway?) As things stand, Paul has a solid defense, effective jab and impressive power that he knows how to employ. Future opponents who see fighting Paul as a lark do so at their own risk.
People are now calling for Paul to be a contender. Aside from the fact that he can fight in different divisions, becoming a contender probably doesn’t interest him all that much. Paul wants big money, high profile fights. That means he’s unlikely to want to throw down with someone ranked 8th by the WBA any time soon. That’s actually too bad because Paul would up his chances of winning a world title exponentially if he battled some sharp and current contenders. Let’s face it, Paul is young, but he generally likes his opponents to be old, or outside the current boxing scene.
With all that being said, it’s going to be harder and harder for the man to find novelty opponents at the rate he’s going. Even Chavez was long past his prime when he slipped between the ropes on Saturday. There’s no doubt Paul’s looking for a prime fighter that will bring in lots of eyeballs and dollars. The question then is: Can the guy actually compete at such a level right now? While Paul could certainly become a contender, could he truly battle the biggest, most talented names in the business? Word was out this weekend (true or not) that Paul may want to face Anthony Joshua. That’s a dangerous game. Joshua might indeed be past his prime, but he likely has enough in his arsenal to potentially hurt Paul in the ring.
When all is said and done, Paul will probably end up one of two ways: a fighter who shocked one of the world’s biggest names, or a fighter who tried crossing a bridge too far and found himself completely outclassed and/or flattened. Say this for Paul, though – he’s willing to take that kind of risk.