Boxing fans divided by potential fight between Jake Paul and Aussie weapon Jai Opetaia
Paul's professional boxing record now reads 12-1, with his most recent victory a one-sided unanimous decision over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr — an underwhelming fight that never got out of first gear.
That has been the theme for virtually all of Paul's fights. The 28-year-old YouTuber has chosen his opponents very carefully, allowing himself to build a solid record that saw him ranked in the top 15 of the WBA cruiserweight world rankings.
His fight against Mike Tyson was one of the most watched sporting events ever, but it was a fizzer on a dark day for boxing. Paul's lone loss came against boxer Tommy Fury in early 2023, and the rest of his opponents have been washed up boxers, or former MMA and NBA stars.
To his credit, Paul has created an empire and built up his boxing company Most Valuable Promotions, championing women's boxing and putting on all-female fight cards.
The female fight extravaganza at Madison Square Garden last weekend, that saw Australia's Cherneka Johnson become undisputed world champion and Katie Taylor complete a trilogy clean sweep over Amanda Serrano, wouldn't have been possible without Paul's backing.
'I want tougher fighters, I want to be world champion,' Paul said after the win over Chavez Jr, including some of the biggest names in the cruiserweight division.
'Zurdo (Gilbert Ramirez) looked slow as sh*t tonight, that'd be easy work,' Paul said.
'I want everybody. Badou Jack, Anthony Joshua, Gervonta (Davis), and Tommy (Fury), stop running.
'I'm just getting warmed up in this sh*t. I'm staying active and fighting everybody.'
One opponent that would certainly wet the appetite is Australia's Jai Opetaia, the current IBF world cruiserweight champion who has won his last three fights via knockout or stoppage.
The 30-year-old is undefeated with 28-0 record (22 KOs) and he is eyeing a unification world title fight against Mexico's Ramirez, who holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight belts.
But now Paul is world ranked, could we see Opetaia fight the YouTuber?
It's unlikely in the short term given top level professional boxers are giving Paul a wide berth, conscious of their reputation taking a battering for even stepping in the ring with him.
However, a fight against Paul would land a massive payday for Opetaia, who is Australia's best boxer but relatively unknown among mainstream Aussie sport fans.
'You'd want to make sure you're in your seat before the fight starts,' AFL great and Main Event commentator Jonathan Brown told news.com.au about the prospect of a fight between Paul and Opetaia.
'Jake Paul's obviously done an amazing job getting publicity around the world, but I don't think any boxer is in the same conversation as Jai Opetaia at cruiserweight.'
Opinion was split on a potential Paul vs Opetaia fight on a recent poll on news.com.au's sport Facebook page, which received thousands of comments.
One reader commented: 'Jake Paul would never stand a chance.'
A second said: 'That's a Jake Paul fight I'd watch!'
A third said: 'Easy pay day … unless Jai signs the dive clause contract …'
A fourth said: 'How much will Paul pay his opponents to be world champion. Let's see him fight opponents in their prime with out a 'take a dive' contract.'
A fifth said: 'I'd actually like to see JP get served one helluva hiding.'
Another added: 'No way. Jai is a professional cruiser weight undefeated IBF and ring magazine champ. He is on his mission of unifying all the belts of the division but those chickens are still running from him. Paul can find an opponent at the WWE.'
The next 12 to 24 months could be massive for Opetaia — if he unifies the cruiserweight division against Ramirez, the next logical step would be moving up to heavyweight with an eye to fighting the likes of Oleksandr Usyk.
'He's an amazing fighter,' Brown said. 'He's the No. 1 Australian fighter at the moment and hopefully his profile especially here in Australia can grow.
'He's an amazing boxer and who knows, he could go up (a division).
'Usyk started at cruiserweight, we've seen some of the great heavyweights start at cruiserweight or even lower divisions, like (Evander) Holyfield.
'Maybe Jai Opetaia can follow the same path? He's cut a swathe through the cruiserweight division. If he can unify that, then who knows, could he go up another level to the big boys?
'It's a pretty exciting journey for Jai. He looks like a fantastic fella, tremendous character and him whole family should be very proud of him.'
It's a massive weekend of top tier boxing this weekend, with Tim Tszyu taking on Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas on Sunday in a rematch more than a year after his gut-wrenching loss.
Brown is in Vegas as part of Main Event's coverage and said the stage is set for Tszyu to exact revenge and get 'redemption' after two losses in 2024 threatened to derail his career.
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