Jake Paul has been told to pursue a showdown with Canelo Alvarez before retiring from boxing at the age of 25.
The YouTube star was last in action when he took on Tyron Woodley in December last year. Paul announced he will fight a new opponent later this year, with his next outing set to take place in August after his recent return to training.
And Paul's sparring partner Anthony Taylor has admitted he would also like to see the YouTube star fight in further crossover bouts against the likes of Kamaru Usman and Nate Diaz. “Honestly, I would love to see Jake fight Canelo," Taylor told The Sun. "Win or lose, ride off into the sunset, retire and say, ‘Hey, I fought a world champion’.
“Even right now, go for it. Why not? Who knows? Jake has improved substantially since his last fight. I would love to see Jake fight Nate Diaz. Or Jorge Masvidal, Kamaru Usman, I would love to see those fights. There’s not a lot of boxers who are calling out Jake at the moment, because they’re focussing on their careers.”
Paul has called out some of combat sports' leading names during his five-fight professional career including Conor McGregor whom he has also challenged to a UFC bout. The 25-year-old was set to face Tommy Fury last year but the British star was forced to withdraw, with Paul now refusing to commit to a rescheduled meeting.
The 25-year-old is also confident of beating the sport's leading star Alvarez who has refused to rule out a future meeting with Paul if the opportunity arises. Paul has admitted he plans to make any clash against the Mexican happen in the final stages of his career but wants to have five or six more bouts first.
Do you think Jake Paul should fight Canelo Alvarez? Let us know in the comments section below
"I would take the fight, right now I couldn't beat Canelo, five fights from now or six fights from now, I could put up a f***ing awesome fight and we'll see what happens," he told The Journey. "I want me vs Canelo to be my last fight, it could happen three or four years from now but it just makes sense, the two biggest names, the two highest-paid boxers in the sport going at it, why not?"
Alvarez had previously suggested he was against Paul's presence in the sport but later performed a U-turn by pointing out his ability to bring a new audience to boxing. The YouTube star has admitted his respect for the undisputed 168lb champion but remains confident he holds three key advantages over Alvarez.
"Other people think [I am not ready to fight Alvarez]," Paul said on ESPN's First Take. "People try to place limits on what is possible for you. I’m bigger than Canelo, I’m faster than Canelo, I’m more athletic than Canelo. Can I box better? Probably not, but after three years, that’s going to be a big fight. Two of the biggest names in boxing going after each other.”
