Error code: %{errorCode}
Jake Paul has claimed to be the ‘King of Boxing’, I can see why
It’s that time of the year once again when boxing fans take part in a relatively new tradition of debating the value of Jake Paul’s presence in the sport.
On Saturday night, live on DAZN PPV, Paul will face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in what is arguably his toughest test to date.
Paul is a divisive figure in boxing since becoming a professional fighter in 2020 and until now his selection of opponents have been mocked. From fighting YouTubers to retired MMA fighters and the legendary Mike Tyson, Chavez Jr presents a different test.
A former world middleweight champion, Chavez Jr will be the first opponent of world level that Paul will be facing and come the opening bell, it will not just be his record ‘The Problem Child’ will be protecting, but also the impact he has made on the sport of boxing.
I’m the King of Boxing
In a recent interview with DAZN, Jake Paul did not hold back when it came to beginning the verbal warfare with his Mexican rival.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vowed that he would bring the respect back to boxing by destroying Paul. As you’d expect, Paul was quick and emphatic in his response.
“He’s a f—g fool,” Paul said.
“To me he’s done nothing in this sport. He hasn’t helped any other fighters, he doesn’t have a foundation. He’s not uplifting anyone, he’s not putting on cards, I don’t think he has taken this sport seriously.
“I’m going to really show people that I’m the King of Boxing, I’m the one doing the biggest events, uplifting the most fighters and putting on the biggest cards time and time again.”
Calling yourself the King of Boxing is a huge claim, even for someone like Paul who still has more critics than supporters within the boxing landscape.
When he first forayed into boxing, Paul was a figure which I dismissed. While I am 28 years old, I’m not someone who is up to speed with the internet stars and whenever Paul appeared in my daily dose of boxing news, it would annoy me.
But as time has passed, I have started to gain some respect for Paul and can see why he labels himself the King of Boxing.
As an avid follower of the sport, it is often a struggle to get a younger audience interested in the sweet science due to endless distractions. But if someone like Paul, who is one of the biggest influencers on the planet, can open the door to new fans who will then fall in love with the sport, ‘The Problem Child’ can claim to be the biggest boxing influencer and in his eyes the “King”.
The greatest thing to happen to boxing since Muhammad Ali
What makes boxing such a popular sport worldwide are the characters within it. Rarely does the casual fan remember the boring personalities, it is the fighters with electric ones which become popular.
With the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s time in the sport coming to an end, Paul is arguably boxing’s biggest character.
He is never afraid to speak his mind and safe to say, he believes that has surpassed a legendary figure when it comes to his impact and legacy in the sport of boxing.
- Read next | Jake Paul calls former heavyweight champion 'overrated' and makes prediction for fantasy fight
“I’m the greatest thing to happen to boxing since Muhammad Ali, there’s no debating that. What I’ve done speaks for itself.”
It will be a comment which will raise eyebrows and enrage boxing fans, and while it’s a lofty aspiration, it will be difficult for anyone, even someone with Paul’s mass audience and popularity to come anywhere near to Ali’s legacy.
However, Paul has had a positive impact on the sport in certain areas.
“No other fighter is building gyms, getting boxing gloves into the hands of kids, throwing multiple events a year, donating my entire purse back into my own charity when I fought in Puerto Rico,” Paul continued.
“Taking women from getting paid $1,000 to five, six, seven million. Breaking Netflix records, shutting down the site, 128 million global viewers, the list goes on and on.
“I’ve only done this in 12 fights where Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Marvin Hagler, you can name any of these people and they fought nobodies for their first 15-20 fights.”
The transformational effect Paul has had on women’s boxing is one that has to be applauded. Not too long ago, women’s boxing was dismissed and looked down upon.
The emergence of names such as Katie Taylor, Natasha Jonas and Amanda Serrano have made the women’s code a respected one, and it appears to be reaching a climax when the trilogy fight between Taylor and Serrano headlines an all-female boxing card put together by Paul and MVP at Madison Square Garden on July 11.
Yes, Paul may have had to plough a lot of his own finances into women’s boxing, but what he has done is make numerous women boxers feel valued with the purses they are earning. This feeling more often than not is missing from the men’s code.
Is Jake Paul right to call himself the ‘King of Boxing’?
When it comes to inside the ring, no. While he is taking on his first ‘real’ boxing opponent, I don’t see ‘The Problem Child’ challenging for a world title, even if he manoeuvres himself into a prime position.
The boxing powerbrokers will no doubt want to keep him away from the belts in a bid to keep the sport’s respect in check.
Outside of the ring on the other hand is a different story.
Paul has realised there are some major flaws in the game. Using his financial wealth and ability to bring together a mass audience, he is having a positive impact, especially in the women’s code where he has more or less got the best of the best under his MVP promotional banner.
Whether this continues remains to be seen. He will always be at arm’s length when it comes to bettering Muhammad Ali and other fighter’s legacies, but fight fans need to come to terms with Paul’s beneficial work within boxing and realise that while his ‘King of Boxing’ tag maybe a stretch too far, he is now one of the names that dines at boxing’s top table.
Watch Usyk vs Dubois 2 exclusively live on DAZN PPV, Saturday, July 19. Buy the PPV now here