Jake Paul suggests 10-man shortlist for next fight with announcement close
The social media sensation won all of his fights this year and has now hinted a suggested 10-man shortlist – with his next fight soon to be announced
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has identified 10 fighters as his next potential opponent, with the American set to announce his next bout soon.
The 27-year-old has enjoyed a successful year inside the ring. His first fight inside the squared-circle came against Ryan Bourland back in March, with the young American going on to secure a devastating knockout in the first round. He returned four months later and took on former UFC fighter Mike Perry.
After picking up a brutal knockout in the sixth round, the ‘Problem Child’ earned himself a fight with former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson. Despite failing to knock the boxing veteran out, Paul still went on to pick up a crucial win on points – capping off a remarkable year in the ring.
Paul has now earned some well-deserved time off for the time being, but is eager to get straight back in the ring and has confirmed his next fight announcement will come in January. Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – he wrote: “Big announcement in January. Boxing.” In another post uploaded online, the 27-year-old has released a graphic with ten stars in both MMA and boxing, potentially teasing that one of them may be next. Here, we took a look at each of them…
Gervonta Davis
Earlier this month, Paul hit out at boxing sensation Gervonta Davis after the latter expressed his readiness to take on ‘The Problem Child’ during a conversation with Curran Bhatia. Davis stated: “Yeah. Tell him this is my callout. Jake Paul what up? What up Jake Paul?” Paul hit back at Davis on social media, stating: “Floyd’s little son calling me out? … come on little tank, you know better. I saw you pretend like you didn’t know who Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor are. Do better and maybe 1 day I give u a platform to shine again after that budget basic press conference you just had.”
Floyd Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather has already went toe-to-toe with Jake’s older brother, Logan, but it would appear that the young star is also eager to take on the boxing legend. Last year, Jake called out Mayweather for a ‘real fight’ after turning down “numerous” exhibition offers.
He said: “Floyd will not see me 1 on 1 in a real fight. That’s a fact. His team has hit my team numerous times to do one of his ‘exhibitions’. Now he ambushes me. Come see me in the ring, real fight, no exhibition robbing fans bulls***.”
Conor McGregor
Unsurprisingly, Conor McGregor has found himself on Paul’s hit list. This comes despite reports stating that the UFC star is in talks to take on Jake’s older brother, Logan. Despite appearing to be open to a clash with Logan, McGregor has been back-and-forth with his younger brother Jake over the years. A clash with ‘The Problem Child’ in the boxing seems more realistic.
McGregor would require the UFC’s permission to fight Logan or Jake as he still has two fights remaining on his contract. But given both the UFC and the WWE are owned by parent company TKO, a deal could be struck. However, while a clash with Jake seems more likely, it may prove tricky to negotiate.
Artur Beterbiev
It’s been a successful year for Artur Beterbiev – who became the undisputed light-heavyweight champion after defeating Dmitry Bivol in October. Following Paul’s win over Mike Tyson, Beterbiev was quick to call-out ‘The Problem Child’. “@jakepaul what can you do in ring against the current undisputed champion?” Beterbiev wrote on Instagram on Saturday. “Just know that I’m always open to any suggestions.”
However, Beterbiev changed his tune and rowed back on his call-out of Paul. In an interview with Seconds Out, he said: “In boxing, for a long time I have had my favourite boxers and they are Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. And Jake Paul beat Mike Tyson and it’s my first reaction that I want to pay him back. But after a couple of days, it is good, I don’t want to fight with him. If he wants to then yes but I don’t think he wants to fight me… I think I’d show him boxing.” While Beterbiev has played down the potential fight, it would appear that Paul is still eager to settle the rivalry with the boxing star.
Ryan Garcia
Ryan Garcia is another on Paul’s radar. This comes despite the boxing star being banned from the sport following his positive test for PEDs. It was confirmed on back in June that a settlement agreement had been reached between Garcia, his legal team, and the New York State Athletic Commission, which regulates professional combat sports. The agreement states that Garcia will be suspended for at least one year and forfeit his $1.1 million (£870,000) fight purse following his clash with Devin Haney. Following the ban, both Garcia and and Paul have traded barbs online. A fight seems very much unlikely, however, given the big weight difference between the pair.
Daniel Dubois
Much to the surprise of many, heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois called out Paul for a fight following the latter’s recent fight inside the ring. ”Hi Jake,” he wrote in a message on Instagram. “Good business on the weekend but how would you feel fighting for the legitimate heavyweight championship of the world. This is Daniel Dubois calling you out, let’s get it on.” With Paul fighting at heavyweight previously, a clash between the pair seems unlikely, but not impossible.
Alex Perreira
Not long after the Brazilian’s fight with Khalil Rountree, in a chat with Adin Ross, Paul was asked how a boxing fight with Alex Pereira would play out. ”One thousand percent I would beat him,” he said. “That’s the thing is, Rountree actually kind of exposed that he doesn’t have a high volume output. He doesn’t like body shots. In MMA, Pereira would rip my head off. But boxing is a completely different sport, and the pace of it, and the style of it. He has holes. I mean, Rountree rocked him, hurt him a couple of times to the body, but didn’t follow up on it. So if anything, this fight showed me, yes, Alex Pereira is great. But I know I would beat him in a boxing match, and I still would love to make that happen. Pressure is on him. If he can find his way out of the UFC contract like Nate Diaz did, then eventually him and I can talk.”
Paul has called out the UFC light-heavyweight star on multiple occasions over the last year or so. That said, it may be difficult to get the UFC to agree to a potential fight between the pair.
Nate Diaz (MMA)
Despite teasing that his next fight may take place inside the squared-circle, it’s been reported that ‘The Problem Child’ will make his debut inside the cage in 2025. A fight with his former foe Diaz could be on the cards. In an interview with MMA fighting, Paul hit out at the former MMA star. “We want to, but our opponents don’t actually really want to. It’s funny that Nate Diaz is actually scared to fight me in MMA. The biggest payday of his life would be me and him in MMA. I’m ready.”
KSI
A clash between both Paul and KSI would arguably go down as the biggest fight in influencer boxing history. The social media stars have gone back-and-forth online over the last years. KSI – real name Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji – has already fought Jake’s older brother, Logan.
While ‘The Problem Child’ fought at heavyweight in his last outing, he tends to compete at cruiserweight, a fair bit heavier than KSI. Back in October, Paul made a final offer to make the fight happen and has suggested a catchweight of 192.5lbs. Speaking on his podcast, he said: “KSI, you want 185lbs. I want 200lbs. I didn’t want to budge. You didn’t want to budge. Mr Beast said, ‘Why don’t we just meet in the middle?’ Good point, Mr Beast. I’m down. 192.5lbs and that’s my final final offer. He’s probably just going to say, ‘I’m focused on my music career.’”
Tommy Fury
Both Paul and Tommy Fury went toe-to-toe last year, with the latter going on to hand ‘The Problem Child’ the first loss of his professional career – winning via split decision in Saudi Arabia. Since then, the pair have discussed a potential rematch.
‘TNT’ recently took to social media and confirmed he is interested in a rematch with Paul – providing the American talks ‘serious numbers.’ “Right, so I’ve just woke up and seen Logan Paul talk on his podcast yet again about how I don’t want to fight Jake and that I’m running scared. I’ve seen Jake tweet the other day about how he offered me x,y,z on Netflix. I just wanted to come on here and say that no one here is running from this fight,” Fury said. Despite shutting down his request, the young American may be eager to get his revenge and level the series with the Brit.
