Paul, a YouTuber-turned-fighter, has set his sights on becoming a legitimate boxing champion. He recently beat former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, who hadn't fought in a while. Most people don't think Paul's goal is realistic because he started boxing late and has mostly fought former UFC fighters.
But Stevenson sees it differently. He said:
"I think, actually, Jake got tremendously better from the timeframe he started until now. And, in the right situation, I could also see him become a world champion. Yeah."
Right now, the cruiserweight division has several champions. Badou Jack holds the WBC title, Jai Opetaia has the IBF belt, and Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez owns both the WBA and WBO titles.
Stevenson thinks Paul's best shot at a title would be against Ramirez. He explained:
"I'm not the biggest Zurdo fan… but yeah [that's a big jump.] Zurdo's been boxing for a long time … I think Zurdo is a better fight for him than Badou Jack. I wasn't impressed with his last fight. I just know Badou Jack, even though he's old, he's got a lot of experience and he knows how to win."
Paul recently stirred up controversy by getting ranked number 14 with the WBA. Many fighters, analysts, and fans weren't happy about this. The WBA might look at their rankings again because of all the complaints.
Stevenson shared his thoughts on Paul's ranking:
"Technically it is about who you've fought. You know how it goes. It's about who's got the most power and who controls the sport. At the end of the day, I see why he's there."
Paul plans to fight again in November or December this year. If he keeps improving, he might get a shot at Ramirez's titles down the line. But for now, the boxing world waits to see if Paul can back up his ambitions in the ring.