Jake Paul might be getting a bit ahead of himself.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer will fight former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson on Friday ― and he’s already musing about his potential next opponent. (Watch the video below.)
In an interview with Paul posted Monday on YouTube, host and ex-UFC champ Sean O’Malley presented a scenario of Paul, 27, knocking out Tyson, 58.
“Do you have a callout in mind?” O’Malley asked.
“It’s Canelo,” Paul answered, meaning super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez of Mexico. The 34-year-old Alvarez (62-2-2 with 39 knockouts) also won titles in three other weight classes.
“This moment will prove that I’m the face of boxing, the largest attraction,” Paul said. “And me vs. Canelo at 200 pounds for the cruiserweight championship of the world is the biggest fight, arguably even bigger than me vs. Tyson, and it makes so much sense.”
Paul continued to make his case for tangling with a man once considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
“Canelo is on his way out. He’s gonna want a payday,” Paul explained. “And I want to show the world that all the shit I’ve been talking about beating Canelo is actually true.”
Fast forward to 22:34 for the exchange:
Back in April, Alvarez wasn’t so keen on the possibility. “Maybe in two years we can talk,’’ he said.
But first things first. Paul has said he conceived of the bout against Tyson while tripping on ayahuasca. The two will square off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and on Netflix in a giant novelty of an event that is a sanctioned pro fight. Paul predicted in October that about 25 million viewers would tune in.
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The showdown, which was delayed by Tyson’s bleeding ulcer, will earn Paul a reported $40 million and Tyson $20 million.
The matchup is scheduled for eight 2-minute rounds (a departure from the standard 3-minute rounds in pro boxing) and the fighters will wear 14-ounce gloves instead of the conventional 10-ounce gloves used for combatants at 147 pounds and above.
While age has likely diminished Tyson (50-6, 44 knockouts), relative neophyte Paul (10-1, 7 knockouts) best stay in the present for his Netflix date with the legend, who in his heyday was deemed “the baddest man on the planet.”
John Nacion via Getty Images
