Floyd Mayweather Jr. said he's ready to step back into the professional ring to face Jake Paul. The former five-weight world champion made this statement in a recently resurfaced interview, despite the significant weight difference between them.
Jake Paul, the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer, has become a major star in the sport. He recently beat 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a wide points victory. The fight, estimated to have drawn 100 million viewers on Netflix, didn't live up to the hype. Tyson looked his age, and critics weren't impressed.
'Money' Mayweather, an all-time great, had previously faced Jake's brother Logan in a 2021 exhibition. That fight went the full eight rounds with no winner announced. Now, he's set his sights on the younger Paul brother.
In an interview, Mayweather shared his thoughts on Paul's boxing career:
"Jake Paul, as of right now for what he's doing it's good for what he's doing, but when it's time to fight an actual real fighter, it's gonna be bad! But one think I like about him, one thing I do is that he's selling it and he's making good money and he's entertaining, I like that."
Mayweather praised Paul's marketing skills and entertainment value but warned about his prospects against professional boxers:
"As long as he continues to fight MMA guys ant YouTubers then he's going to continue to look good and shine, but once he fights a real fighter, a real fighter that can really fight, then it's not going to be that good."
When it comes to a potential fight between them, Mayweather said:
"Paul was doing a sit down on a podcast one time and he said 'I don't want to do an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather', he said 'I'm only doing real fights'. Now, of course I can't get up that high in weight but I'll fight him at the weight that I'm at."
Paul's next move remains uncertain. He's been linked with fights against light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, cruiserweight champion Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramírez, and even IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois. Tommy Fury, who beat Paul in their first encounter, has reportedly turned down $8 million for a rematch on Netflix.
