Quick Thoughts on Jake Paul’s Forward Career Path in Boxing

Quick note — this was languishing in my drafts folder for months. I originally wanted to comment on the Tyson v. Paul fight but didn’t get around to it.

Start off with some thoughts on the Paul v. Tyson fight that took place on November 15, 2024 streamed on Netflix.

Look, did we really want to see Jake Paul go to the emergency room? No.

Despite being an arch troll, the guy is oddly loveable. Just has that something about him.

I don’t think we even want to see him humbled. Show is over then, fun is stopped.

Did we want to see the legendary champion and larger than life figure Mike Tyson get hurt? Hell no.

Mike got paid. Jake got paid and he can keep this entertaining ride going.

No one talked about the undercard fights. They were awesome. Those fighters got well compensated as far as I’m aware.

Thinking about it, I can’t even comprehend the level of fighter exploitation that has taken place over the last several decades (perhaps well past the century mark). A marketing and promotion genius like Jake disrupts the whole entrenched system, potentially giving more fighters leverage in their careers.

Many commentators are calling on Jake to take on a real boxer. They say he should stop fighting retired MMA fighters, retired boxing legends, celebrities & influencers, etc.

I say no. Keep tapping into the MMA & pop culture well.

He should continue to take advantage of the friction between MMA and boxing, between older & younger generations, between divides in the culture, and so on.

Those friction points are where the huge paydays and ongoing publicity lie. With his legitimate boxing skills, he’ll win those fights easily without taking on the serious risk of major bodily harm going against ferocious, world class professional boxers.

Based on the Internet chatter and gossip, Jake was close to securing a mega fight with legendary boxing champ Canelo Alvarez.

But last news I heard that deal completely fell off for a bunch of reasons.

If Jake does somehow end up getting in the ring with Canelo, an all time great fighter…Whew.

That might be the end of Jake’s strange but immensely entertaining odyssey.

But he is a very clever operator so…

We’ll see.