Jake Paul has become possibly the most sought-after man in the boxing world, as multiple MMA legends continue to call him out for a potential fight.
Paul spoke with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi about the options that are at his disposal currently, following his split-decision victory over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on August 29. He first talked about the callout he received from former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort after he defeated 58-year old boxing legend, Evander Holyfield, via a first-round TKO in the main event of Triller Fight Club’s most recent event this past weekend. Paul said the following about a potential fight with Belfort, seeming not all that interested in the matchup.
“I think he has like some weird obsession with me,” Paul told Raimondi. “He’s old and washed up, and he’s smart. He’s doing anything he can to get clout and if they (Triller) want to put $30 million into escrow and I talk to Stephen Espinoza and be like ‘Yo Steven, let’s rob the bank’, it could be a possibility. But Triller doesn’t have that money. There’s no possible way. It’s just a smart play on their end. It’s not really that interesting of a fight, in my opinion. Vitor, again, is old and washed up. He was a big name at one point, but not for this sort of new combat sports world. He’s a little bit too old. It’s not that exciting. He’s an easier fight than Tyron. So, I don’t know.”
He continued on to talk about a potential bout with former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The 46-year old Brazillian MMA icon was impressive in his bout on the Triller event over the weekend, knocking out UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz in the first round of the night’s co-main event.
“I think the fight with Anderson is something that’s very intriguing,” Paul said. “I have a lot of respect for Anderson, he’s an MMA legend. I was a fan of his growing up. He’s said nothing but nice things about me, so you know there’s a mutual respect there. The thing is for me, I’ve been fighting guys who are a little bit older, and there’s a criticism there. So if I fight Anderson, it sort of goes along with that narrative, and even if I win they’re going to be like you just beat up an old, retired guy. So that’s where it’s a little bit tricky.”
The @SpiderAnderson KO hits different from ringside — #SilvaOrtiz
(via @OmarESPN) pic.twitter.com/5tUEa9UwgK
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) September 12, 2021
Paul did say the opponent that would probably be the biggest fight for his next bout would be two-time UFC welterweight title challenger and BMF champion Jorge Masvidal. After the two have exchanged words recently through the media and Masvidal making it clear he wants to fight both Paul brothers at some point, the YouTube star said he’d love the matchup.
“If his dad, [UFC president] Dana [White], lets him out of his contract, that would probably be the biggest fight out of all of these that we’re talking about,” Paul said. “I would love nothing more. It’s a good test for my skill, right? He’s the ‘Gamebred’ street fighter, with his hands. I would love that — I would love that fight.”
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