Last month, Roy Jones Jr. called Jake Paul’s unanimous decision victory over Mike Tyson for Netflix.
Now Jones — who, like Tyson, is considered one of the best fighters of all time but is well into his 50s — says he wants a shot at the 27-year-old Paul.
“It makes you want to go in there and at least just test Jake Paul’s chin,” the 55-year-old Jones recently told TMZ Sports. “You know he got a good punch. I know he’s capable of putting anybody out. But I don’t think Mike checked his chin at all, so I wouldn’t mind having a shot to see if I could get to his chin, to test his chin.
“He takes the shot, cool. Or if he can catch me before I can get to his chin, cool. But I would definitely like a shot to get in there and shoot at his chin, you know?”
Jones (66-10, 47 KOs) is far from the only boxer calling for a chance to take on Paul (11-1, 7 KOs), the influencer-turned-fighter who attracts hoards of viewers and makes a whole lot of money every time he steps into the ring.
Both Paul and Tyson were said to have earned tens of millions of dollars for their sanctioned heavyweight bout Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions said the fight’s gate of $18,117,072 is a U.S. record for a boxing or MMA event held outside of Las Vegas.
MVP did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding this story.
World Boxing Assn. lightweight champion Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) was critical of Paul after the Tyson fight for not knocking out a 58-year-old man who’s more than twice his age. In a recent video clip, Davis was asked if he wanted to take on Paul.
“Yeah. Tell him, uh — this my call out. Jake Paul, what up?” Davis said before tilting his head and staring into the camera with a serious look. “What up, Jake Paul?”
Paul reposted the clip Saturday on X and mocked Davis’ “Tank” nickname, 5-foot-5 height and former association with Floyd Mayweather Jr. before saying he might entertain the idea of fighting the 30-year-old.
“Floyd’s little son calling me out?…come on little tank, you know better,” Paul wrote. “I saw you pretend like you didn’t know who Amanda Serrano & Katie Taylor are… do better & maybe 1 day I give u a platform to shine again after that budget basic press conference you just had.”
Canelo Álvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs), the 34-year-old former world champion at four weights, recently stated he has entertained the idea of fighting Paul to avenge Tyson’s loss.
“I [did] think about it when I saw the fight, when I see that injustice,” Álvarez said. “But we’ll see.”
Paul, who has called out Álvarez in the past, responded last week on X, asking why “would I give him the payday?”
Similarly former World Boxing Council interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) said on X in November he’d like to fight Paul “for uncle Mike” sometime early next year.
Tommy Fury, who beat Paul by split decision in February 2023, was asked by ESPN in the days following the Tyson fight whether he’d agree to fight Paul again.
“In a heartbeat, yeah,” Fury, 25, responded. “I mean at the end of the day I think me and him, we’re set in stone. He’s only got one defeat and that’s to me, so it’s inevitable that we are going to get back in the ring.”
Other past and present boxers who have expressed an interest in fighting Paul within the last month include Daniel Dubois, Andre Ward, Artur Beterbiev and Antonio Tarver.
