Jake Paul’s Next Fight: Likely Opponents to Face the YouTube Boxer Next
Back in September 2013, few would have predicted that a 16-year-old prankster would, just eleven years later, rake in the biggest boxing gate outside of Las Vegas and beat 58-year-old Mike Tyson. Love him or hate him, Jake Paul is a phenomenon.
His latest bout against former undisputed world heavyweight champion Tyson might have been the subject of memes and jokes. It still pulled 65 million viewers worldwide and pocketed Paul nearly $40 million from the purse.
Starting on the now-defunct social media site Vine, Paul and his brother Logan amassed 5.3 million followers and nearly 2 billion views before transitioning to the burgeoning YouTube scene.
Paul now has over 20 million subscribers on the site.
The YouTube Sensation-Turned-Boxer
In 2018, Jake Paul began his boxing career with a white-collar match against fellow YouTuber Deji Olatunji, brother of rapper KSI, in Manchester Arena, winning in the fifth round. Two years later, he made his professional debut in another battle of the YouTubers against AnEsonGib in Miami.
A first-round knockout saw Paul retain his unbeaten record. Later that year, he fought former New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson, defeating the former NBA first-rounder, this time in the second round.
From this solid base of wins, Jake Paul’s next fight was against former ONE and Bellator MMA fighter Ben Askren in Atlanta. With 1.4 million watching, Paul defeated the former welterweight champion via technical knockout in the first round.
Four months later, a split-decision victory against former UFC champion Tyron Woodley gave way to a rematch between the pair. Paul was due to fight Tommy Fury, the half-brother of undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, but defeated Woodley by knockout in the sixth round.
Another bout against Tommy Fury was scheduled in August but was canceled again due to travel issues, so Paul fought former UFC champion Anderson Silva in October 2022, winning via unanimous decision. Finally, in January 2023, Paul fought Fury after significant media hype, losing via split decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He returned to the ring in August 2023 to face Nate Diaz in Dallas, winning via unanimous decision.
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He subsequently beat Andre August in Orlando and Ryan Bourland in December before turning his attention to fighting former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, originally scheduling a fight for July 2024. When Tyson was unavailable, he scheduled a fight with former UFC and bare-knuckle boxer, the so-called “King of Violence” Mike Perry, winning via technical knockout in the sixth round.
All roads led to his prize match with Tyson, originally announced in March 2024. The fight was initially scheduled for July, but it was delayed in May after Tyson had an ulcer flare-up while flying.
Once the fight was rescheduled to November, almost 90,000 fans watched in AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, as Paul defeated Tyson via unanimous decision. His fight was divisive, controversial, and captivating – much like Jake Paul himself. O
nly one thing is sure: with an 11-1 record, Paul is not finished yet. So one question remains – who will fight Jake Paul next? In this article, we’ll analyze the options for Jake Paul’s next fight.
Strategy and Training
Upon embarking on his boxing career, Jake Paul hired Shane Mosley, a world champion in three weight classes, to be his coach. Training in The Summit Gym in Big Bear, CA, Mosley guided Paul through his first fight against AnEsonGib, who was defeated in one round.
Despite this, he parted ways with Mosley after that fight and brought in former cruiserweight title challenger BJ Flores as his head coach. Flores led Paul to wins against 38-year-old Askren, 40-year-old Woodley, and 47-year-old Anderson Silva.
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Questions remained about Paul’s ability to defeat conventional and younger fighters, which were brought to the fore after his defeat to Fury. At the time, Fury was 24 years old and regarded as a conventional boxer, unlike the MMA fighters and YouTubers he had fought before.
After Paul’s loss to Tommy Fury, he overhauled his coaching team to prioritize conventional boxing skills in his training regime. The 27-year-old brought in coaches and professionals associated with the Kronk Gym in Detroit, such as Theotrice Chambers, his head coach, and J’Leon Love, a long-time associate and coach of Paul. He also recruited Larry Wade, a former world track star ranked No.3 at his peak, as his strength and conditioning coach.
The new coaching team was in place for his 2024 fight against Mike Perry, resulting in visible improvement in his conventional boxing. Love and Chambers’ work developed Paul’s boxing technique, and Wade significantly increased his conditioning, allowing him to outlast Mike Tyson in his most recent fight.
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Despite fighting a man over 30 years his senior, Paul was noticeably fitter and stronger in his most recent fight and looked more and more like the professional fighter he sorely wants to be seen as. Whoever fights Jake Paul next, the 27-year-old is undoubtedly a different fighter than at the start of his career, thanks to working on the basics with his new coaching team.
Jake Paul Next Fight: What’s on the Line?
Jake Paul’s career to date has delivered a lot, including massive financial gain and pay-per-view orders, plenty of talking points, and a significant amount of controversy, even mockery. One thing that has eluded Paul during his boxing career is genuine legitimacy in the eyes of the boxing establishment.
Paul has attempted to address this with fights against conventional boxers, primarily in non-pay-per-view fights, to build up a resume to be taken seriously as a professional boxer. His fights against Andre August and Ryan Bourland, a former Golden Gloves champion and Junior Olympic boxer, were designed to fill the gap in his experience caused by a lack of a prior amateur career.
His victories in both fights were minimized and ridiculed by many in the boxing establishment, but they point to a desire to establish credibility. In March 2024, Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Paul’s promotions company, Most Valuable Promotions, told ESPN that Paul wanted to build his resume against more seasoned boxers and pivot away from gimmicky, non-boxer fights.
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“Paul said to me that when he stepped into the ring with Fury, that he didn’t perform at the level that he wanted to. A big part of that was that he hadn’t been taking a traditional path and that path requires him to build from the ground up,” Bidarian commented.
It is indisputable that Jake Paul’s profile and popularity with younger viewers mean he will form a pivotal part of boxing in the future as he attracts attention and pay-per-view orders.
The former YouTuber revealed his desire to become the greatest boxer in the world. Bidarian claims he said, “I understand I’m going to make a lot less money in these fights, but it is worth it for me in terms of the ultimate goal — which is to become the greatest story in boxing history… and eventually a world champion.”
Significant promoters like Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren, and Bob Arum are paying attention to his profile. The fight preceding Paul’s clash with Tyson saw one of Eddie Hearn’s prize assets, Katie Taylor, once again face off against Amanda Serrano.
Paul is already big business. Despite this, attracting controversy at every turn, the 27-year-old knows that one misstep will see the boxing establishment dismiss him. Simply put, he can’t put a foot wrong, or he could lose everything.
Jake Paul Next Fight: Who’s Stepping into the Ring with Jake Paul?
With all this in mind, Jake Paul’s next opponent is crucial to his progression as a serious boxer. With an 11-1 record, albeit a record whose quality is disputed, facing a serious contender is pivotal for the YouTuber’s quest to dominate boxing.
Equally, after a mix of high-profile, low-prestige contests like his fight against Tyson and low-profile, resume-building contests like his fights against August and Bourland, the search is on for a genuinely seismic, box office bout for Jake Paul’s next fight. Below, we’ll examine some of the options that have been touted for Paul’s next challenge.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
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El Hijo de la Leyenda, or “Son of the Legend,” has emerged as a pathway for Paul to finally and definitively become a legitimate boxer in the eyes of the boxing elite. The 38-year-old held the WBC middleweight title from 2011 to 2012.
His 54-6-1 boxing record speaks of his unparalleled quality in the ring, and WBA President Gilberto Mendoza has indicated his willingness to sanction the fight as a world championship bout – incredibly, given neither fighter is ranked in the WBA Top 15.
Prediction
Chavez Jr’s record is excellent, and he is undoubtedly a fighter of incredible skill and quality. If Jake Paul’s next fight is against Chavez Jr, it’s sure to be an evenly matched and high-quality affair. At full strength, Chavez Jr is undoubtedly pound-for-pound a better boxer, but Paul has a habit of surprising people in the ring.
Tommy Fury
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This one is pretty much certain to happen at some point. Jake Paul will want to set the record straight after the controversial circumstances leading up to, during, and after his first highly publicized fight against Tommy Fury. His loss to Fury via a split decision will surely have hurt Paul, and it’s expected that a rematch will be in the diary sooner rather than later. In November 2024, Fury told ESPN that a second fight between the two is ‘inevitable.’
Prediction
While Fury got the better of Paul in the first installment of this saga, it was a really tight call. Paul knocked Fury down (although Fury’s team claimed this was a slip). Paul threw double the number of punches and had a higher percentage in the eight rounds. With significant changes to his coaching team, Paul might have the edge on the unbeaten fighter from Manchester, England.
Canelo Alvarez
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Among the media hype following Jake Paul’s win over Mike Tyson, many asked what Jake Paul’s next fight would be. A week after the fight, Paul had his own thoughts on the matter, leading to speculation that world champion in four weight classes, Canelo Alvarez, would be his next opponent.
Seeking legitimacy by beating a former world champion, the 27-year-old said, “Canelo is the person… People want to see me lose, so wouldn’t the best opportunity to see me lose be up against Canelo? People won’t be happy until I’m flatlined.” Paul knows beating Canelo, who has a 66-2-2 record, would be big news.
Prediction
While it would be big news, it would also be incredible for Paul to defeat the 34-year-old Mexican. Canelo is, without a doubt, even at this point in his career, an unbelievable fighter. If Jake Paul fights Canelo next, it would be the biggest challenge of his career by far.
Jorge Masvidal
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This rumor stems from another public spat between Paul and a member of the fighting establishment. Paul touted the 40-year-old, who holds the record for the fastest knockout in MMA history, as an opponent to start his MMA career.
On the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani in April 2024, Masvidal responded to Paul, saying, “You can’t even box, and suddenly you’re doing MMA? Don’t even bring up MMA.” While Masvidal seems to have rebuffed any suggestion of a fight, the two might face off in the octagon or the ring for Jake Paul’s next fight.
Prediction
Masvidal is a serious fighter but relaunched his professional boxing career in July 2024 with a loss to Nate Diaz, who Paul defeated handily. Public conflict aside, this fight feels unlikely to happen, and even if it did, most commentators would give Paul the edge over the Miami native.
Artur Beterbiev
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If you’re a boxing purist looking for a career-defining matchup for Jake Paul’s next fight, Artur Beterbiev would be high up on your list of priorities. The 39-year-old undisputed light-heavyweight champion would be an immense challenge for Paul, and defeating him, despite the 12-year age gap, would be a significant achievement.
On X, Beterbiev challenged Paul to a fight, saying, “After four years it’s time to have serious challenges. Didn’t notice your acceptance or rejection. So what are we gonna do?” Beterbiev won 20 of his first 21 fights by knockout and is known for having incredible punching power. If Paul loses, he won’t lose much credibility, but if he wins, it will make him an undisputed world champion, something he desperately wants.
Prediction
A Jake Paul vs Artur Beterbiev fight would be the 27-year-old’s single greatest challenge. No boxer he has faced would come close to the power, form, and pedigree of Beterbiev, a world champion. The likelihood is that Paul may hold his own in the fight but would be second-best. This probably explains his cold shoulder to the Russo-Canadian boxer, as he knows this would be too much at this stage of his career.
Jake Paul Next Fight
Jake Paul has undeniably transformed the boxing landscape, drawing new audiences with his crossover appeal while polarizing traditional fans. Love or hate him, his rise has brought fresh attention to the sport. As Paul seeks to cement his legitimacy, his next fight will be pivotal.
A fight with a proven champion like Chavez Jr. or a rematch with Tommy Fury could elevate his credibility. At the same time, challenges against Beterbiev or Canelo Alvarez would test his ultimate limits. Both are legitimate options for Paul. Whatever happens, the next chapter in Jake Paul’s boxing journey could define his legacy.
