Jake Paul is adamant he will fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez following his bout with Mike Tyson.
Ahead of his fight with the former world heavyweight champion, the former YouTube star has resumed his audacious move to fight one of the best pound-for-pound stars in boxing, despite his relative lack of experience.
But Paul believes he can entice the Mexican superstar with Friday’s extravaganza in Arlington, Texas against the 58-year-old Tyson.
Paul, who is now 10-1 with seven knockouts and whose only defeat was on points to Tommy Fury, believes a cruiserweight bout against Alvarez for a version of the world title can be agreed for 2025.
“This moment will prove that I'm the face of boxing,” Paul said earlier this week. “The largest attraction, and me vs Canelo at 200lbs for the cruiserweight world title is the biggest fight.
“It makes so much sense. Canelo's on his way out, he's gonna want a payday. And I want to show the world that all the s*** I've been talking about beating Canelo is actually true.
“I will have the biggest upset in the sport of boxing. We will fight to really see who is the face.”
Meanwhile, Tyson Fury insists Tyson facing Paul will be “fantastic for boxing”, amid general criticism of the upcoming fight.
No rules have yet been announced for the fight, and it is unclear whether it will be an exhibition or professional contest. Regardless, Fury believes that there is plenty to like about the fight.
“I think it’s fantastic for boxing,” Fury said on The Stomping Ground on Wednesday (20 March). “You’ve got a legend in Mike Tyson, you’ve got a YouTube boxer who’s come into the game and blew it up and has got millions of followers and millions of views and millions of eyes – good, bad or indifferent. Some people love [Paul], some people hate him.
“So, I think it’s a really good spectacle for boxing, brings a lot of people to the game. Listen, who am I to say Mike Tyson shouldn’t be boxing, or Jake Paul shouldn’t be boxing? Good luck to them, they’re both gonna make what I call ‘a s*** ton of money’ out of it, so isn’t that what it’s about?
“I’ve been to that stadium, when Billy Joe [Saunders] fought Canelo [Saul Alvarez]. It’s a great stadium, it’ll be fantastic for the guys. Both are getting paid, both are gonna put on a show. I just don’t know what’s not to like.
“Okay, [one] guy is 57 years old, but he’s a former undisputed world heavyweight king.” As for Paul, Fury said: “Listen, from being a kid on the Disney channel to fighting Mike Tyson, who wouldn’t want to do that? You’ve got to admire them both.”
The Briton, 35, also called Tyson and Paul a “pretty even match”, adding: “People say, ‘Ah, it’s s***,’ and this, that and the other, but I bet they still watch it. Who’s not intrigued?”
