Jake Paul's win over Mike Tyson might lead to a world title shot in the cruiserweight division.
Oscar De La Hoya, the boxing legend, wasn't happy about Paul's fight with the 58-year-old Tyson. In an interview with IFL TV, De La Hoya shared his thoughts:
"I felt while watching it that I was disgusted, disgusted at Jake Paul for putting this together knowing Tyson was 58 years old. I'm a fighter myself, I once tried to come back at 48 and my body just shut down. Tyson is a world treasure, I felt a little disgusted, not on Mike Tyson, I felt bad for Tyson, but I'm proud of Tyson."
Despite his disapproval, De La Hoya made an unexpected offer to Paul. He suggested a fight against Gilberto Ramirez, saying:
"If you want to fight Zurdo, if you wanna fight Zurdo right now, let's do it, and he will knock you out."
Paul, at 27, is still new to boxing. He's got 11 wins and 1 loss, with his only defeat coming against Tommy Fury in 2023. He usually fights veteran MMA fighters, making the Tyson bout a departure from his norm. In that fight, Paul won on points, landing clean shots without causing much damage to the heavyweight legend.
Ramirez is a serious opponent. He used to be the super-middleweight champion and now holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles. He's only lost once, to Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight. Recently, Ramirez beat Chris Billam-Smith by unanimous decision, defending his WBA title and snagging the WBO belt.
Paul has made it clear he wants a world title. While a fight with Ramirez would be a big step up, it's in Paul's natural weight class.
Ramirez might have other plans, though. He could be looking at a second unification fight at cruiserweight against IBF Champion Jai Opetaia.
The ball's in Paul's court now. Will he take on the challenge of facing a seasoned champion like Ramirez? Or will he stick to his usual opponents? Either way, his win over Tyson has certainly got people talking about his next move.
