Jake Paul was trained early on in his campaign by Shannon Briggs and the former heavyweight champion has given an honest assessment on the world title winning prospects of ‘The Problem Child’.
The 28-year-old from Cleveland has not fought since he defeated fighting legend Mike Tyson via unanimous decision in their controversial showdown at the AT&T Stadium in Texas last November.
One man who is familiar with ‘The Problem Child’ is former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs, who spent time training the Youtuber-turned-boxer during the early stages of his professional career.
Speaking on The Fumble, Briggs was asked if he believes Paul can cement himself as a serious world title contender at this stage of his career.
“Not at this point no. In my opinion. But I believe that had they continue on my plan and, I’m not trying to sound egotistic and I’mma keep it real with you, I had a plan which they took part of. They’re using part of it which is fighting MMA guys, I said ‘Listen you gotta fight the MMA guys’, they got a bigger fan base and they’re going to wanna kick your butt and they not really good at boxing, so I was like that’s the best way to build.
“They were going that route, they got off and they went on and fought Tommy Fury. He got beat up pretty much and that kind of messed it up but could he have become a legit contender? [Jake], yes and I’m not even gonna say it’s too late, I’m not.”
Paul could move one step closer to achieving his career-long dream of fighting for a world title should he defeat Chavez next month, but he must do so in impressive style and without a hitch. Cruiserweight titlist Gilberto Ramirez, who fights on the undercard, has expressed interest in giving the American superstar a shot.