After much speculation, it has been confirmed that Jake Paul will go toe-to-toe with Tommy Fury at the Amalie Arena, Florida. It is a fight that has been a long time in the making for the YouTuber and the younger brother of world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, and while the Brit is the overwhelming favourite in the Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury betting odds, there are concerns over whether the 22-year-old will be able to deal with the magnitude of the bout.
Even if Fury can overcome the pressure and deal Paul the first defeat of his short career in Tampa, we doubt it will be the last time we see the 24-year-old American, who recently claimed to be ‘the best thing for boxing’, in the ring — especially when you consider the millions he is making from these so-called fights.
So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at four opponents Paul could trade blows with at some point in the future. Read on to find out more!
Conor McGregor
Paul has been trying to lure Conor McGregor into the ring for a long time now, but despite his best efforts at trying to rile up the former UFC champion, he is yet to succeed. He first called out the Dublin fighter in December 2020, releasing an expletive-filled video to his 20.4 million subscribers on his official YouTube channel, which took personal digs at McGregor and his family while also claiming that he made the Irishman a $50m contract offer. He still regularly mocks McGregor with jibes on his twitter account and so on, but the 33-year-old is yet to bite.
Nate Diaz
If one UFC competitor won’t fight Paul, there’s always another waiting in the flanks and that man could be Nate Diaz, a former opponent of McGregor. The American mixed martial artist only has one fight remaining on his contract with Dana White’s firm and it is believed that he is open to the idea of becoming a free agent and fighting Paul thereafter. It is rumoured that Diaz and his brother Nick, another UFC fighter, could pair up and take on both Paul and his brother Logan, who recently fought Floyd Mayweather, on the same blockbuster card.
Speaking about facing Diaz, Paul said: “Bro, this guy’s got like 40 losses on his record. For sure [I want to fight him], I’m going to beat him into a pulp, no problem, no issues. I’m going to Stockton slap the s*** out of that b****.”
Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez
While Paul has called out Canelo in the past, and the current undisputed super middleweight champion has seemed open to the fight, it’s fair to say that it looks unlikely to happen anytime soon as the Mexican has bigger fish to fry. The 31-year-old, who is often favoured in the boxing tips from Paddy Power, is regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport right now and it is believed that he wants to move up to the cruiserweight division in a bid to become a five-weight world champion. So, Paul might have to wait on the backburner for a while yet.
Tyron Woodley
Paul went toe-to-toe with former UFC champion Tyron Woodley at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio back in August, beating ‘The Chosen One’ via a split decision. Woodley was promised a rematch if he got an ‘I love Jake Paul’ tattoo and he duly delivered on his side of the deal. However, with Paul having moved on to a matchup with Fury and plenty of other opponents lining up for a crack at the 24-year-old, it’s unclear whether that ship has sailed or not.
