Jake Paul is set to make his return to the boxing ring in August, and while an opponent hasn’t been named, the social media star knows exactly what he wants from his next fight.
After knocking out Tyron Woodley at the end of 2021, Jake Paul went on a bit of a hiatus from boxing as he focused more on the promotion side of things rather than training with his Most Valuable Promotions brand.
At the start of February, though, he did show his hand a little, revealing that he was planning on returning to the ring at some point in 2022 and that he’d already started considering opponents.
Fast forward to March 25, and the YouTuber has confirmed that he’ll be back in action in August against an, as of yet, unnamed opponent. Though, once again, he knows exactly what type of fighter he wants to take on.
The 25-year-old has been teasing the idea of ditching boxing for MMA and taking on the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor, but he told TMZ he has ideas if that falls through.
“There’s a long list, you know,” Jake said about his potential next opponent. “We’re in talks with a couple of different people. We’re toying around with the idea of going into MMA for the next fight, so, we’re in negotiations. We’re talking to a bunch of different people and seeing who makes the most sense.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
The YouTuber reiterated that there is a “long list” of people he wants to take on, but it’s all still up in the air. “It depends on who is ready and who can sell the most amount of pay-per-views,” he added. “As of yet, I haven’t really fought someone with as big of a name as me, I’ve really done all of the promotion, so I want to fight someone with as big of a name as me and that’s what we’re looking to do.”
Timestamp of 1:06
A few championship-caliber fighters – including Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Mairis Briedis – have already thrown their hat into the ring to fight Jake, with Briedis even offering up a shot at his IBF Cruiserweight title.
Jake has previously downplayed the idea of him finally taking on long-time rival Tommy Fury, seeing as the Brit pulled out of their December 2021 bout, but it would certainly have plenty of attention around it.