Jake Paul compared himself to the late, great Muhammad Ali ahead of his Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight.
Jake Paul isn’t afraid to tout his accolades in and out of the boxing ring since kicking off his polarizing fighting career in 2020. After suffering his first professional boxing loss to Tommy Fury in 2023, Paul has won five fights in a row, gaining confidence with every winning performance in the ring.
In addition to his wins inside the ring, Paul has made huge strides outside of it. He’s helped grow women’s boxing with the help of Amanda Serrano, Katie Taylor, and others after years of fighter pay debates and other issues.
While Paul believes he’s made some positive impacts on boxing, with good reason to think so, he puts himself in high-esteem alongside Muhammad Ali.
Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty ImagesJake Paul infuriates fans with Muhammad Ali self-comparisons.
In a recent interview with DAZN, Paul made a bold claim about his accomplishments in boxing.
“To me, [Chavez] has done nothing in this sport. I feel like I’m the only one doing it. Everyone else is just trying to gatekeep or say that they’re doing things for the sport, or something is bad for boxing. But I’m the greatest thing to happen to boxing since Muhammad Ali, and there’s no debating that,” Paul said.
“No other fighter is building gyms, getting boxing gloves into the hands of kids, throwing multiple events a year, donating my whole entire purse back into my own charity when I fought in Puerto Rico…
“I’ve done this in only 12 fights, where Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Marvin Hagler, you can name any of these people, fought nobodies for their first 15-20 fights, and no one even knew who they were.”
Fight fans exploded on social media in response to Paul’s comments.
“Is he serious?” one fan replied on X.
“Jake does NOT believe this and once again he trolls everyone to stay in the headlines. How can nobody see this,” another said.
“This m——— is annoying.”
“Delusional, he’s not a boxer.”
“Someone needs to smack his light head.”
“Celebrity boxing is so cringe.”
“Go f— y——- Jake Paul you balding rat.”
“I hate to admit it but this kid DID put a lot of eyes on boxing.”
“He’s not wrong. We will prove it when we KO former champion Chavez.”
Ali is inarguably one of the greatest fighters in combat sports history, earning wins over the likes of George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and Ken Norton during his career. He retired from professional boxing with a 56-5 record and numerous highlights that are still talked about today.
Paul believes he can win a major boxing world title before he hangs up the gloves. As he prepares for his return later this month, Paul will have the chance to move one step closer as he faces arguably the biggest test of his career.
Jake Paul faces Canelo Alvarez’s former rival after Mexican boxing legend’s last-second reversal
Paul and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. headline an intriguing card on June 28th in Anaheim in Paul’s first fight since defeating Mike Tyson in November. Chavez, a former rival of Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs, has won two fights in a row over former UFC fighter Uriah Hall and David Zegarra.
Paul was on the one-yard-line in talks to face Alvarez for Cinco de Mayo weekend, before Alvarez signed a lucrative multi-fight deal with Riyadh Season. Alvarez will face Terence Crawford later this year as he looks to add to his legacy.
If Paul defeats Chavez, he’ll further silence his boxing detractors. But after his recent self-comparisons to Ali, boxing fans might need a while longer to come around on the polarizing star.