Jake Paul came through the window that boxing provided by taking far too long to make the fights that fans wanted to see, but now that the sport is turning out a slew of anticipated bouts, how much longer will Paul remain relevant?
The YouTuber returns to the ring in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, headlining his MVP Promotions card against former UFC and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships slugger Mike Perry.
The bout fills in for Paul’s postponed fight against 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, which was moved to November at AT&T Stadium outside Dallas following Tyson being sidelined by an ulcer.
Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) has made his name fighting guys who were known publicly, starting with a fellow YouTuber and moving on to an NBA player and a string of UFC fighters. But in his fight against former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s younger brother, Tommy Fury, he lost, and has since posted some victories over underwhelming pros.
Since Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh and American promoters have moved so forcefully to make the major showdowns that previously seemed so difficult, the question looms about where this leaves Paul.
In the past year, boxing has given fans the undisputed welterweight title fight between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford, the undisputed heavyweight title fight between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, and will stage the undisputed light heavyweight title fight between champions Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, with Crawford headlining a stacked card in Los Angeles on Aug. 3.
On Thursday’s episode of Pro Box TV’s “Deep Waters,” analysts Chris Algieri and Paulie Malignaggi discussed how these boxing strides affect Paul.
“Jake is very smart – he created his own lane, signed fighters, created MVP Promotions. To me, Jake Paul is [this era’s] ‘Butterbean,’” Algieri said of the former “King of the Four-Rounders,” a rotund heavyweight slugger whose novelty fights often landed on Top Rank pay-per-view cards a generation ago.
Algieri noted how Paul’s rise, which included UFC fighters who specialized in wrestling, was “carefully orchestrated.
“Jake is a good athlete who can punch and Jake’s [improved] for real,” Algieri said.
Still, his fights are more novelty act than legitimate.
“It’s still something positive for boxing because it shows when there’s a fight, people want to watch it,” Malignaggi said. “When you were in school – junior high, high school – and there was a fistfight between two popular guys,” students wanted to see it.
“This is what the YouTuber thing became. I’m not sure they know how to fight, but guys you know are fighting while guys who know how to fight aren’t as popular as the popular guys. That’s life. If popular guys get in a fight, people want to see it. It’s high school all over again.”
Malignaggi admits the shelf life of the shtick seems to be nearing an expiration date.
“In some ways, you think, ‘It had it’s time …’” he said.
The analysts said Paul deserves serious props for supporting women’s boxing, with titleholder Amanda Serrano on Saturday’s card and heading to a rematch with undisputed champion Katie Taylor on the November card. Malignaggi calls lightweight prospect Ashton Sylve’s Saturday bout against Lucas Bahdi as the best fight on the slate.
“That’s how you make new fans of the sport,” Malignaggi said.
Yet Algieri said he doesn’t believe the Paul-Tyson fight will happen, due to Tyson’s health issues, and he’s not sold on the merits of cruiserweight Paul meeting the far lighter Perry on Saturday.
“This is boxing – bigger gloves, bigger guy,” Algieri said.
Paul once dreamed of fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, but the 34-year-old undisputed super middleweight champion is in the process of making a fight, followed perhaps by showdowns with Crawford and a nine-figure meeting against unbeaten David Benavidez.
For now, Paul appears left behind, reduced to the carnival fare that he’ll offer atop his card again Saturday.
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