4 Best Opponents for Jake Paul's Next Fight
It's official. Jake Paul is an overseas boxing commodity.
The "Problem Child" had been 0-1 off the U.S. mainland after a scorecard loss to Tommy Fury a year ago in Saudi Arabia, but he headed to more familiar surroundings in Puerto Rico to even the slate with a Saturday defeat of journeyman pro Ryan Bourland in San Juan.
Paul boasted that Bourland was another in a line of "real" boxers he's faced, though the 35-year-old had fought once since 2018, had five wins over plus-.500 foes and was stopped in less than two minutes by a guy (Israel Duffus) who's gone 1-7 in his last eight fights.
"I wanted it to be a little bit longer to give the fans a little more time," he said. "But it was a little bit of shake and bake, I dodged his pitty-pat punches and put his sorry ass on the floor.
"I'm ready for the big leagues. This is my life now."
Paul's first-round TKO boosted his overall ring record to 9-1 and was his third straight victory since the surprise loss to Fury, half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. And it provided another chance to cycle through a seemingly perpetual list of competitive options.
Boxing. MMA. Wrestling. Presidential politics.
Who knows where we'll see him next?
The B/R combat team was up to the challenge of figuring it out, coming together to compile a list including who it should be, who we wish it would be and who it probably will be, before rounding it out with a would-be internet-busting option.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.
Who It Could Be: Johnny Eblen
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It's time to change things up a bit, no?
Given Paul's proclivity for challenging high-profile boxers but competing against guys barely known outside their immediate families, we'd suggest he freshen up the act by activating the business side of his social media agitator empire.
Paul got an equity stake in the Professional Fighters League promotion last summer and the status-hungry operation purchased the Bellator organization in November, bringing together the athlete rosters of two of the UFC's most recognized, albeit smaller in scale, rivals.
The organizations produced a champion/champion show last month in Saudi Arabia and Bellator middleweight king Johnny Eblen emerged with a victory, defeating PFL champ and UFC alum Impa Kasanganay. He didn't call Paul's name in the aftermath but fellow UFC alum Derek Brunson did, lumping Eblen and Paul together as his wannabe next foes.
Sorry Derek, but we're including you out of this one.
Much of Eblen's success has come on the feet, with six of 15 wins by KO and only one by submission. That'd be a selling point for a boxing-only match, and, without a cut to Bellator's 185-pound middleweight limit, he'd be comfortable in Paul's 200-pound neighborhood.
"I would think Johnny would take the money if it were offered," Kevin Iole, former lead combat writer at Yahoo Sports, told Bleacher Report.
Who We Wish It Would Be: Canelo Alvarez
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Jake Paul gets full marks for salesmanship.
Maybe he's honestly plotting a course toward winning a legitimate world title in spite of a clinical loss to Tommy Fury last year. Maybe he's just saying all that to keep the masses coming back to pay for nondescript follow-up foes like Ryan Bourland.
Maybe it's somewhere in the middle.
But regardless, he says it like he means it.
In fact, he's repeatedly insisted he wants to meet guys with actual world-class resumes, and occasionally suggests their trepidation is why he's still facing the likes of Bourland.
Guys like Canelo Alvarez.
No, really...that Canelo Alvarez.
"The path that I'm on now tees me up in the future to fight Canelo," Paul told The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, a few days before stopping Andre August, whose previous opponents were a combined 35-65-6. "It's even just showing him that I can go 10 or 12 rounds with you.
"I've done that with real, legitimate pro boxers and beat them."
His use of the words "real" and "legitimate" is dubious. But the enthusiasm of his fan base, which shows no signs of coming out of its device-addled spell, indicates it'd be more than happy to tap into its cash apps to cover the cost to view the spectacle.
Who It Probably Will Be: Neeraj Goyat
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Let's face it, Jake Paul is in the money-making business.
Particularly when the money goes to Jake Paul.
So while he'd no doubt rake in a prodigious payday for staging his next fight in Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia or any point in between, he implied during fight week that he's interested in tilling new promotional ground a little farther off boxing's beaten path.
India.
Neeraj Goyat is a 32-year-old fighter who's been a pro since late in 2011 and passes the so-called "real" boxer litmus test with an 18-4-2 record with eight KOs, though he's been beaten by two fighters in their pro debuts and another with an unimposing 3-6 slate.
Goyat gained attention in his home country and beyond with a social media campaign to goad Paul into a fight, and his viral chattering paid off when Paul's promotional company announced Friday that he'd been signed to a contract.
And speaking of attention, Goyat's Instagram post of a parking lot confrontation between he and Paul in Puerto Rico had neared 2 million views as of Saturday night.
Paul suggested during the Bourland fight week that the idea of fighting in India excited him and it seems pretty convenient that he suddenly added a native fighter who'd make it a lot easier to till that crowd-enhancing ground.
If you're placing a bet, this isn't the riskiest one on the board.
"Neeraj has made some noise. His callout video got 25M views," Paul said. "He's India's biggest and best boxer. So, it is interesting to me. It could be fun to go over to India and knock him out in his home country. Maybe one day, but we'll see."
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What Would Break the Internet: The WWE
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He's fought boxers, basketball players and ex-MMA fighters.
So would it surprise anyone if Jake Paul decided to change competitive lanes once again and join forces with his older brother Logan in the world of sports entertainment?
Not us.
Logan Paul dabbled in boxing and earned respect after going the distance with Floyd Mayweather Jr. atop a pay-per-view main event three years ago in Miami, but was widely panned after a DQ win of ex-UFC'er Dillon Danis in Manchester, England last October.
A full-on dive into the WWE waters soon followed and Paul won the promotion's United States title in early November. He performed again at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January and made his first WWE television appearance in mid February.
His reviews there have been positive.
"It has been astonishing how well Logan Paul has adapted to wrestling, given that he had no prior training," wrestling writer Daniel Sinasac said in a column. "You can tell that he has worked to get better, and it shows. Comparing him to any other celebrity who has performed in the ring is not a fair comparison. Paul looks like he belongs in the ring."
Jake Paul suggested before the Bourland fight that a crossover tag team would be huge.
And given his pull and the WWE's pull with the same crowd, he's probably not wrong.
"I see a world where we're WWE tag team partners, that would be sick," Paul said. "Honestly, like, who would stop us?"
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