ARLINGTON, Texas — Jake Paul thinks he can challenge for a championship belt within two years.
Mike Tyson has not ruled out another return to the ring following the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion’s first sanctioned professional fight since 2005.
An event publicized as a prize fight turned into a glorified sparring session, the eight-round bout won by Paul in a lopsided unanimous decision at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys Friday night.
There will always be questions for Paul as to when he will fight a contender in his prime, as opposed to aging former champions, mixed martial artists or journeyman boxers.
The 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer’s responses have been consistent, and he now has a timeline.
“I think it could happen in the next 24 months,” Paul said. “I really, really believe in my skills, my abilities and my power. And the cruiserweight division is apparently open to the idea of meeting that schedule.
Tyson, whose last fight before retiring was a loss to Kevin McBride 19 years ago, said he was confident in his ability to face Paul because of an entertaining exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. ahead no fans during the pandemic in 2020.
A shorter fight (instead of 10 or 12 rounds) with shorter rounds (two minutes instead of three) and heavier gloves was far from entertaining.
The International Boxing Hall of Famer went after Paul fiercely in the opening seconds, then briefly again to start the second round. Otherwise, he mostly let Paul come at him, and Paul said he thought Tyson was too tired to pose a threat beyond the third round.
Yet Tyson did not want to say it was his last fight after the officially recorded defeat dropped his record to 50-7 with 44 knockouts.
“It depends on the situation,” Tyson said before suggesting a fight with Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, who was standing next to him in the ring.
“I’m going to kill you, Mike,” Logan Paul retorted, using an expletive for emphasis.
There is no doubt that young Paul will be back in the ring. The former social media influencer started boxing about 4 1/2 years ago and always said he wanted to become a championship fighter.
“He’s a very good fighter,” said Tyson, undisputed heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990, after Paul won 80-72 on one judge’s scorecard and 79-73 on the other two.
But Paul still has a lot to prove. He is 11-1 with seven knockouts, the only loss coming against Tommy Fury, the less accomplished brother of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
The former Disney Channel star has proven he can create hype for just about any fight.
The first live sporting event on streaming platform Netflix attracted tens of millions of viewers, with Paul suggesting there were 120 million while claiming the company he co-founded, Most Valuable Promotions, would provide figures on Tuesday.
According to reports, Paul’s salary was $40 million, compared to Tyson’s $20 million. Paul mentioned his number at a promotional event over the summer.
Organizers estimated the AT&T Stadium crowd at 72,000, and that seemed like a legitimate number.
“There may never be another moment like this in boxing, but I believe we can find something,” Paul said. “And I think there are some names that make sense, that the events will be just as important.”
In the days leading up to his fight with Tyson, Paul mentioned super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, considered one of the best boxers in the world.
An opponent of that magnitude is likely at least several fights away for Paul, and it may not be long before age becomes an issue for the 34-year-old Alvarez.
Paul’s camp will never question his ability to put on a show.
“Boxing is ebbs and flows, ups and downs, big events, small events, medium-sized events,” said Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s promoter. “Our philosophy is not the decision that happens in the ring. It’s about the attitude you have, the product you create, and how you entertain fans. And there’s no athlete more entertaining than Jake Paul.
Originally published:
