by “How good is Jake Paul as a boxer?” This tends to be a common refrain from those who know about the YouTuber-turned-pugilist but aren’t invested enough in his individual success or indeed in the sport in general to find out for themselves.
In truth, the answer is probably a bit more recent than those who love him or those who love him would have you believe and unfortunately we won’t be any closer to a definitive answer to the question on Friday night .
Leaving aside his fierce bravado, consistently calling out real and current boxing superstars such as superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and relentlessly insisting that he is finally on his way to world championship glory, Paul deserves no doubt for his progress in the ring. until now.
To go from a freshman to the level he has reached now in just over four years is a huge achievement that cannot happen without an unwavering work ethic and applying the utmost commitment on a daily basis.
Paul clearly carries power in his right hand as well, but it’s clearly tempered by the fact that so far he’s been mostly firing – admittedly often with devastating effect – on former MMA stars who are getting older and, in their early days, on other YouTubers and even. former basketball player to compile a misleading professional record of 10-1 with seven career hitting streaks.
Paul once took offense at the promoter and now as he defied Eddie Hearn describing his talents as “average”, which the Matchroom chief executive – who has recently been in a legal battle with the American – insisted he was he meant it as a compliment because of where he started. from.
But how can he realistically be labeled as anything else when he continues to completely reject the conventional boxing path that would provide the most accurate test of his progress?
“When can we expect you to start fighting legitimate opposing fighters in your weight class?” One reporter asked the so-called ‘Problem Child’ at the final press conference on Wednesday before his controversial show with Mike Tyson in Texas, which will be broadcast live on Netflix.
Paul again interrupted the familiar inquiry by calling the journalist in question a “dumbass” and insisted that he disrespected an all-time great in Tyson suggesting that he was not a serious opponent.
But it’s a question he can’t get away from if he wants to be respected in proper boxing circles as anything more than a circus act who has succeeded in pioneering a hugely profitable and popular version of the sport that involves more in the kingdoms. entertaining but cannot be expected to be taken seriously by the traditionalists.
Whether he likes it or not, Paul can’t escape the fact that the only time he’s come up against a properly trained professional boxer so far, he didn’t get stuck fast – in last year’s cash crunch with archeologist Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia. , where he was deservedly defeated by split decision.
While not wanting to disparage younger half-brother Tyson, Fury has shown little luck in his own short career so far to suggest he will be more than a competent fighter at best and believes that enough that he was lucky after that. a decision win over an even smaller YouTuber-turned-boxer in KSI in Manchester last October.
Paul will no doubt point to his emphatic first-round knockouts of hand-picked opponents in Andre August and Ryan Bourland – between two more predictable fights with MMA veterans in Nate Diaz and Mike Perry – as evidence of his ability to not just mix it up. with and beat only truly legitimate boxers, but that argument can’t stand up to any scrutiny when you consider that the two virtually unknowns have only had two fights to their name since 2018.
Paul can’t escape the fact that the only time he came up against a properly trained professional boxer, he didn’t get stuck quickly
And he will repeatedly focus on Tyson’s tumultuous history as one of the greatest and most feared heavyweights ever to don a pair of gloves, while willfully neglecting to stay in the 31-year gap between the two who saw harsh critics mocking him on Friday. contest – delayed four months after Tyson’s health scare – as nothing more than a freak show and farce that should not have been allowed to come to fruition.
Tyson is unlikely to be a big pusher of course and he has kept himself in great shape, but what else are we really going to learn about Paul’s improvements or lack thereof as he fights a 60 year old knocking on the door and expect it to be a weird one. shows that will fly completely in just eight two-minute rounds?
The answer is quite simple, and the long wait will continue for him to finally start walking a more recognizable path to boxing legitimacy.
