Notebook: Jake Paul: 'Boxing is my love, my passion, my destiny'
Returns to face full-time boxer Andre August Friday on DAZN; Top Rank sets up featherweight world title doubleheader; Chantelle Cameron seeks trilogy with Katie Taylor; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Through Jake Paul’s first eight professional fights he has had all but his pro debut on pay-per-view, two of them on undercards — including the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. blockbuster — and five as the headliner while also drawing big crowds whenever he fights.
The YouTube and social media personality now may be more known for his boxing exploits as he takes the sport more and more seriously. Believe him or not, but he insists — and sounds quite convincing — that he is in the sport for the long haul, and believes he will someday win a world title.
So, in order to give himself the best possible chance to achieve that goal, one many undoubtedly laugh at, Paul is putting his boxing development ahead of money and pay-per-view events.
His first eight bouts were all against non-boxers except for his lone defeat, an eight-round split decision to full-time boxer Tommy Fury in February. Paul’s other bouts were against a social media influencer, a retired NBA player and a series of famous MMA stars crossing over to boxing such as Nate Diaz, who he outpointed over 10 rounds in his last fight in August.
While Paul has not closed the door to participating in those types of hype-driven pay-per-view fights, he is taking a step back in an effort to develop as a fighter
That is why when Paul returns to the ring for an eight-round cruiserweight fight he will face Andre August, an unknown fighter but a full-time boxer with similar professional experience as Paul. They will meet in the main event of a card Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions will put on Friday (DAZN, 7:30 p.m. ET) at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.
“I’m falling more and more in love with the sport and the training, details and bettering myself as an athlete, increasing the sparring and it’s just been an amazing time,” Paul told Fight Freaks Unite. “I’m excited to show my new skill set from this camp.”
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The Cleveland native Paul (7-1, 4 KOs), 26, is seeking to better develop his skills in the opposite manner boxers typically do. Most fighters start with this kind of bout against an anonymous opponent in a small venue before, if all goes well, finally making it to big-money pay-per-view fights in major arenas.
Paul has been there, done that.
“I don’t think this has ever happened in the sport of boxing,” he said of his unusual path. “It’s just how things played out. This all started with YouTubers talking shit to each other and decided to fight. And then one thing led to another and I’m fighting more YouTubers, then (retired NBA player) Nate Robinson, then a UFC guy, Ben Askren. This is just how the cookie crumbled. I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with the sport. I didn’t know this was going to become my love, my passion, my destiny, and there’s something beautiful about that.”
Rather than face another MMA fighter in what would have been a bigger event, Paul is facing August (10-1-1, 5 KOs), 35, of Beaumont, Texas, who has won five fights in a row, to continue to hone his skills and gain much-needed experience.
“This is my road to becoming a world champion. I’ve said it from Day 1. I’m gonna be a world champion and fight in the biggest fights in the world and everyone’s gonna see that,” Paul said. “I’m gonna beat Canelo (Alvarez) and all of these things, and now it’s just me putting that into action, gaining the experience and it not being about the business side or the entertainment side anymore.
“This is about me, my team, my skill set, and getting better and staying sharp in camp as a young boxing prospect. Just taking the more traditional boxing route, which is what I’m here to do. It’s going to be one of the greatest sports stories ever when I become a world champion.”
For a boxer to say it’s not about the money is shocking but Paul’s view is that he has made so much already, from boxing and other businesses, that he is fine downsizing his events here and there for the sake of development.
“I don’t even know how much money I’m making for this fight to tell you the truth and could care less,” Paul said. “I’ve grossed $250 million in pay-per-view in three years and it’s not just about the business. I have money coming in so many other ways and so many businesses we don’t need to do that. Sure, it’s great but I’m truly focused on the sport of boxing and my skill set. The entertainment and the pay-per-views and all that is fun, but I’m serious about becoming a world champion and this is the route to that.”
He said the loss to Fury taught him that even though he competed and it was a close fight, he realized he needed to better himself.
“I learned so much. Hindsight is 20/20. I think mostly learning that you’re not invincible,” Paul said.
Before Paul decided to fight August there was some conversation about a rematch with Diaz, which Paul wanted to do as his MMA debut.
“I wanted to run it (back) in MMA,” Paul said. “We had the $10 million offer to him and still silence on his end other than some tweets that he’s clearly high. I think he got the paycheck from our fight and was like, ‘Wow, that’s big.’ Wants to do it again but not willing to risk it in MMA.I think he knows what would happen there and I believe I would clearly dominate him and ruin his legacy, so I don’t think he’s willing to risk it for the money.”
Without the prospect of fighting Diaz again in MMA, Paul went the route that will lead him to the ring against August. But Paul will still make a big payday even if it’s not the same kind money he has made headlining PPV events.
“He’s still making a seven-figure payday on this fight,” said Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s business partner and co-founder of MVP. “The business is still great for someone with his experience and a big part of that is the profile he’s built through his first eight fights. At the same time he never wanted to charge his fans for a pay-per-view to fight a guy that no one’s ever heard of and no one is saying this is true gatekeeper to a championship. This was his personal decision to do right by his fan base.”
Paul said this sort of development fight won’t be his last even though he will still evaluate possible fights against other MMA fighters if it makes sense.
“I think it will be a balance as things come through the door,” Paul said. “But for now it’s focusing on fighting prospects and gaining experience. But let’s say one of these idiots who calls me out wants to get smoked up in a blunt for $10 million? Of course, I’m going to go and do that. I call those the side quests.
“This is the main quest and the main destination is being a world champion. For now, it’s fighting real boxers with real skill and challenging myself.”
Featherweight title doubleheader
During the Robeisy Ramirez-Rafael Espinoza card on Saturday night, Top Rank announced a featherweight world title doubleheader for March 2 (ESPN+).
Luis Alberto Lopez will defend the IBF title against mandatory challenger Reiya Abe and newly signed Otabek Kholmatov will face Raymond Ford for the vacant WBA featherweight title.
The site was not announced but when Top Rank won the recent Kholmatov-Ford purse bid, it said in the bidding paperwork that its Match 2 card would take place in Verona, New York, meaning Turning Stone Resort Casino.
Top Rank and Abe promoter Teiken Boxing made a deal for the Lopez-Abe fight rather than go to a purse bid.
Lopez (29-2, 16 KOs), 30, of Mexico, will be making his third defense, having stopped Michael Conlan and outpointed Joet Gonzalez in defenses this year. Abe (25-3-1, 10 KOs), 30, a Japanese southpaw, earned the shot with a decision against former two-division titlist Kiko Martinez in April in a title eliminator that sent Martinez into retirement.
Top Rank won the Kholmatov-Ford purse bid for $317,500 — which will be split 50-50 between the fighters — to beat an offer of $255,555.55 made by Ford promoter Matchroom Boxing. Kholmatov (11-0, 10 KOs), 25, of Uzbekistan, and Ford (14-0-1, 7 KOs), 24, a southpaw from Camden, New Jersey, will fight for the 126-pound title vacated by Leigh Wood.
On our latest podcast we recapped and gave thoughts on the Haney-Prograis and Ramirez-Espinoza cards and much, much more! Give it a listen, a review, and also subscribe to get an alert when the next episode is available. New show every Thursday and Sunday night.
Cameron seeks Taylor trilogy
Former undisputed women’s junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron said she hopes to next face Katie Taylor in a trilogy fight in an effort to avenge her only defeat and regain the belts.
“Had my break from boxing to clear my head and recover from my first loss,” Cameron wrote on social media. “Katie, we both took each others 0, let’s get the trilogy on next. I agreed to the first fight in less than 48 hours, no excuses. If you are anything like me you will not want to leave this at 1-1.”
In May, undisputed lightweight champion Taylor moved up to junior welterweight and, in an Ireland homecoming fight, challenged Cameron for her belts. It was a sensational action fight and Cameron squeaked out a majority decision win, 96-94, 96-94 and 95-95, to retain the title.
Taylor exercised her right to an immediate rematch and they met again on Nov. 25 at 3Arena in Dublin, the same venue as the first clash. In another superb action battle, Taylor won a majority decision, 98-92, 96-94 and 95-95, to join Claressa Shields (middleweight and junior middleweight) as the only women to win undisputed titles in two divisions in the four-belt era.
After the fight, Cameron (18-1, 8 KOs), 32, of England, who was making her second defense, didn’t discuss her future even though Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs), 37, said he was open to doing a third fight.
“Let’s get the trilogy at Croke Park (a stadium in Dublin),” Taylor said. “It takes two to tango and Chantelle is a phenomenal fighter, a phenomenal champion. She deserves everything she gets as well. To have a trilogy would be great for both us. I think that’s exactly what we both want. She’s a legend herself. Two legends in the ring for the trilogy.”
Quick hits
Titov Boxing on Tuesday won an IBF purse bid for the right to promote a junior lightweight title eliminator between its fighter, former titlist Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-1-1, 14 KOs), 29, a southpaw from Tajikistan, and Eduardo Nunez (25-1, 25 KOs), 26, of Mexico. Titov Boxing bid $305,000 to beat the only other offer of $179,111 from Nunez promoter Matchroom Boxing. The purse split is 60-40 in Rakhimov’s favor, meaning he will get $183,000 and Nunez $122,000. Titov Boxing has 90 days to stage the fight. The winner will become the mandatory challenger for titlist Joe Cordina (17-0, 9 KOs). When Cordina was stripped of the title for being unable to make a mandatory defense against Rakhimov due to a hand injury, Rakhimov stopped Zelfa Barrett for the vacant belt in November 2022 and then lost it to Cordina by split decision in a blazing fight in April.
Showtime will stream three preliminary bouts from its final boxing event on Saturday from The Armory in Minneapolis on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Showtime Boxing Facebook page beginning at 6:45 p.m. ET, before the start of the network tripleheader topped by David Morrell-Sena Agbeko at 9 p.m. ET. The three fights: former WBA junior welterweight titlist Alberto Puello (21-0, 10 KOs), 29, of the Dominican Republic, who is off a PED suspension that cost him the title, will face Ector Madera (11-0, 6 KOs), 27, of Stockton, California, in an eight-rounder; middleweight Kyrone Davis (17-3-1, 6 KOs), 29, of Wilmington, Delaware, fights Cruse Stewart (8-2, 6 KOs), 34, of Maple Grove, Minnesota, in an eight-rounder; and light heavyweight Lawrence King (13-1, 11 KOs), 27, of San Bernardino, California, faces Alex Theran (23-12, 15 KOs), 33, of Colombia, in a six-rounder.
Plans for WBC/WBA/WBO women’s flyweight titlist Marlen Esparza (14-1, 1 KO), 34, of Houston, and IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs), 21, of Coachella, California, to fight for the undisputed title on the Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Fredrick Lawson DAZN card Jan. 6 in Las Vegas have fallen through, according to both sides. Fundora’s side told Fight Freaks Unite they had signed and were on board but there was apparently a disagreement between Esparza and Golden Boy over money. The WBO previously had agreed to sanction the bout as long as the winner agreed to next face mandatory challenger Gabriela Alaniz, who lost the WBO title to Esparza by majority decision in their three-belt unification fight in July. With Esparza-Fundora falling through, the WBO on Tuesday re-ordered an Esparza-Alaniz rematch. They were given five days to make a deal or a purse bid will be ordered.
Evgeny Tishchenko (13-1, 8 KOs), 32, a southpaw, who won the 2016 Olympic heavyweight gold medal for Russia, became the inaugural WBA bridgerweight titleholder when he won the newly created 224-pound belt via sixth-round knockout of Leon Harth (22-6-1, 13 KOs), 35, of Germany, on Saturday at Agenda Arena in Dubai. Tishchenko dominated, winning every round. He dropped Harth in the second round and stopped him at 2 minutes, 45 seconds of the sixth. The WBA recently joined the WBC in creating a 224-pound division between cruiserweight and heavyweight. The WBO and IBF have not thus far joined them.
Australian junior bantamweight contender Andrew Moloney (26-3, 16 KOs), 32, who was on the wrong end of an absolutely brutal 12th-round knockout at the hands of Junto Nakatani in their fight for the vacant WBO belt on the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko undercard in Las Vegas, returned on Saturday in Albert Park, Australia, and outpointed Judy Flores (13-2, 7 KOs), 25, of the Philippines. Moloney won 100-90, 100-90 and 97-93. “Flores was a tough opponent and I wanted a challenge,” Moloney said. “And I promise everyone I will do everything possible to join my brother (WBO bantamweight titlist and twin Jason Moloney) as world champion is 2024.”
Italian featherweight Francesco Grandelli (17-2-2, 3 KOs), 29, will face Belgium’s Stefan Voda (14-0, 5 KOs), 30, in the 12-round main event of a card that will stream live in the U.S. on Saturday on ESPN+ (2:30 p.m. ET) from the Palasport Le Cupole in Turin, Italy. In the eight-round junior welterweight co-feature, WBC mandatory challenger Sandor Martin (41-3, 14 KOs), 30, a southpaw from Spain, will stay busy against Mohamed El Marcouchi (29-3, 12 KOs), 35, of Belgium.
The Canadian rivalry fight between middleweights Steven Butler (33-4-1, 27 KOs), 28, a former two-time title challenger from Montreal, and Steve Rolls (22-3, 12 KOs), 39, of Toronto, has been shifted to a new date and site. It was set for Feb. 23 at Colisee Desjardins in Victoriaville, Quebec, but Eye of the Tiger announced that “logistics issues” have caused the fight to be moved to March 7 at Casino de Montreal in Montreal. Butler was blown out in the second round challenging WBO titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly in May but returned for a win Nov. 14. Rolls is coming off a 10-round decision loss to prospect Austin Williams in September. Rolls’ other losses were by decision to Edgar Berlanga last year and fourth-round knockout to Gennadiy Golovkin at 164 pounds in 2019.
Show and tell
Japanese pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue has been a wrecking machine throughout his 11-year career. “The Monster” is fast, skilled, has tremendous power and is a ferocious body puncher. He has won world titles in four divisions — junior featherweight, bantamweight, junior bantamweight and junior flyweight — and, after winning the WBC and WBO titles in a one-sided eighth-round knockout of Stephen Fulton in July, his next fight was quickly set. He’ll face IBF/WBA titlist Marlon Tapales on Dec. 26 in Tokyo to crown the first four-belt undisputed 122-pound champion. If Inoue wins, and he is heavily favored, he will join Terence Crawford as the only male boxer to be undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era.
Before facing Fulton, Inoue pounded Paul Butler into a one-sided 11th-round knockout to fully unify the bantamweight division and become its first four-belt champion. He also became the division’s first undisputed champion in 50 years since Panama’s Enrique Pinder unified the WBC and WBA belts during the two-belt era in 1972. The historic win over Butler took place on Dec. 13, 2022 — one year ago on Wednesday. Here is a program, which is in Japanese, in my collection.
Show and tell II
Promoters love to throw around the word “stacked” when referring to their cards, which drives me nuts because usually it’s nothing but pure hype not to be believed. Most cards are not remotely stacked and are far from it. But, love him or hate him, Don King in his heyday put on many truly stacked cards. Check out the Julio Cesar Chavez-headlined pay-per-views of the 1990s. They were almost always loaded with significant and interesting world title fights. Same with some of the Mike Tyson pay-per-views King promoted. One of King’s most loaded shows ever was a pay-per-view that I covered at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It included two undisputed title fights, a two-belt unification fight and five other title bouts, one of which was a rematch of an excellent fight. In fact, every bout on the card was a world title fight. The eight world title bouts are an all-time record for most on one show.
There were so many title fights that a big part of the promotion was reminding fight fans that instead of the usual 9 p.m. ET start time, the PPV would begin at 8 p.m. King spent much of the promotion shouting that he had “eight title fights on the scene and five on the screen!” In other words, the PPV included five of the eight bouts. This was way before streaming, so it wasn’t until a few weeks later that the three other title bouts were shown one by one over three weeks on tape delay on the old Fox Sports Net, if my memory serves. Here’s the rundown of the eight title bouts: Bernard Hopkins-Williams Joppy (Hopkins defending the undisputed middleweight title); Ricardo Mayorga-Cory Spinks (meeting to unify titles for the undisputed welterweight title); Hasim Rahman-John Ruiz (WBA interim heavyweight); Zab Judah-Jaime Rangel (WBO junior welterweight); Travis Simms-Alex Garcia (WBA junior middleweight); Rosendo Alvarez-Victor Burgos (IBF/WBA junior flyweight unification); Wayne Braithwaite-Luis Pineda (WBC cruiserweight); Luis Perez-Felix Machado rematch (IBF junior bantamweight). The stacked card took place on Dec. 13, 2003 — 20 years ago on Wednesday. Here is an extremely rare and giant cardboard site poster that was displayed at co-host hotel Caesars Atlantic City during fight week in my collection.
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Photos: Paul: Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions; Lopez/Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Cameron and Rakhmiov/Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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Interesting to see, during Robeisy Ramirez-Espinoza broadcast, ESPN team discussing the simultaneous PPV DAZN show of Haney-Prograis, something they wouldn’t do in the past, basically pretending a rival show didn’t exist. Is this an example of Boxing media finally getting practical, working together somewhat, kind of like promoters now (grudgingly) arranging matches with their separate stable of fighters? And/or, is their fear of the Saudis basically buying the sport, forcing their teamwork?
Dan - you better call that shit out for what it was. That guy had no business in a boxing ring. This Jake Paul shit is masking a farce out of the sport we love. You know it. Come on