Even before Jake Paul dominated boxing legend Mike Tyson on November 15 to improve his record to 11-1, Canelo Alvarez made his opinion clear about the fight and the chance of the social media star squaring against him in the ring.
“I’m not interested,” Alvarez told TMZ in March.
But that did not stop Paul from shooting his shot and making a bold claim about the reigning WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight champion.
“Canelo needs me, so I’m not even going to try and call him out,” Paul said in the post-fight interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. “He knows he wants a payday. So, he knows where the money man is at.”
But unlike the washed fighters Paul had defeated, Alvarez is not desperate to fight for the money.
The Mexican champion has a net worth of at least $275 million from his boxing and endorsement deals, according to Marca. Last year, Alvarez earned $66 million from his fights and promotions to become the top-earning boxer of 2023, per Sportico.
‘It Isn’t Good for Boxing’
In that March interview with TMZ, Alvarez dismissed the Paul-Tyson fight as just a show and not a real boxing match.
“It isn’t [good for boxing],” Alvarez told TMZ. “I think Netflix is good for boxing, but for that fight especially, I think Netflix is doing something wrong there.”
“I think Netflix being involved, yes, it’s good, but not in that kind of fight. I think it’s more [of a] show than a fight. That’s what I think.”
Despite Alvarez’s dismissive view of the fight, Paul’s decisive victory over Tyson drew 60 million households and peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions announced.
It also surpassed $18 million in gate attendance, which doubled the previous Texas gate record in both boxing and MMA, topping Alvarez’s record of $9 million.
Jake Paul Sets Timeline for Dream Title Fight
Paul has his sights set on the cruiserweight division, where Gilberto Ramirez (WBA), Noel Gevor Mikaelian (WBC), Jai Opetaia (IBF), Chris Billam-Smith (WBO) and Jai Opetaia (The Ring) are the current champions.
“I think it could happen in the next 24 months,” Paul said, per AP. “I truly, truly believe in my skills and my ability and my power. And the cruiserweight division is seemingly open for the taking on that timeline.”
In the meantime, Paul has called out former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor after his decisive victory over Tyson.
“Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170lbs. That’s never happening. But let’s run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t,” Jake Paul wrote on X.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis Wants to Beat Jake Paul
WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis called Paul for not scoring a knockout against the 58-year-old Tyson.
“To the bozo that shared the ring with Mike, you a whole bozo for this and you didn’t get the job done [expletive],” Davis said on his Instagram story.
Gervonta Davis with a message for Jake Paul: “you a whole bozo for this and you didn’t get the job done” pic.twitter.com/6cpXb0ucOw
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) November 16, 2024
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Davis was not done yet as he followed it up with threatening words to Paul.
“One more thing,” Davis wrote on Instagram story. “I’m going to beat the brakes off Jake when I catch them. Uppercut, jab, jab, left hook, uppercut, hook. Watch.”
Gervonta Davis says he’s going to beat the breaks off Jake Paul when he catches him pic.twitter.com/TAHcMTEgZg
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) November 16, 2024
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Paul fired back.
“I’d be down,” Paul said during the post-fight press conference. “Let’s run it. Like, I’d be super, super down.”
Then he belittled Davis, asking, “Is there a height limit in boxing?”
Paul doubled down on his trash talking on X.
“Gerventa Davis is just angry he’s not tall enough to ride rollercoaster at Disney World. I’m sorry, little buddy. I know it’s not fair,” Paul said on X.
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Canelo Alvarez Makes His Stance Clear on Fighting Jake Paul