Jake Paul says he’s going to fight opponents that his critics want to see his face. next year.
On Saturday, Paul added another victory to his boxing resume, making a unanimous decision against former WBC middleweight champion Giulio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a cruiserweight fight in Anaheim, California. But for Paul, the victory was a pivotal moment in his career.
“I don’t think I was a fighter at the time,” Paul said at a postwar press conference when asked about his defeat to Tommy Fury compared to his performance on Saturday. “It was two and a half years of sports and I didn’t know what I was doing. There was no right team around me, the right team around me, the right conditioning. My lifestyle outside of the ring wasn’t entirely focused on boxing, either YouTube, celebrities, actors, etc.
“This feels like chapter one is over tonight. Now we’re moving on to chapter two and it’s getting warmer with this sport. People have Tommy Fury things to me, but what’s it now?
Paul lost his angry split decision in 2023, and as Paul held back himself, he reinforced criticism that Paul was not a real boxer. Since then, the previous YouTuber has won six consecutive times, but his opponents have done little to discourage his critics. Before facing Chavez, Paul squared with 58-year-old Mike Tyson in an eight-round battle last November. But with a new shift into a more serious boxing career, Paul is now turning to more age-appropriate matchups, former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
“That’s the main thing we’ve talked about a lot,” said Naxa Bidarian, Paul’s business partner. “If there’s no title, I’m looking at Tommy, if he’s reasonable, I’m looking at Anthony Joshua. And he wants to have that fight at the end of 2026. I’m going to meet Matchroom while I’m in New York.”
At just 35 years old, Joshua is a former unified heavyweight champion and is considered one of the most dangerous punchers of his generation. Joshua dumbfounded Francis Ngannow in March 2024 before pausing Daniel Dubois in a battle for the IBF heavyweight title that September. For Paul, Joshua represents a big leap in the competition, but one “problem child” claims he is ready.
“I’m definitely not in the heavyweight division, but I’m still going to try,” Paul said. “You looked at Deontay Wilder and he was beating these guys weighing 215 pounds. He’s 6’6 or something, but anything is possible. I like the challenge. That’s the criticism. I just think I’m the message behind it all.