Who will Jake Paul fight next?
Jake Paul just picked up another professional boxing win over a former MMA fighter. The influencer-turned-boxer earned a decision victory over Nate Diaz to push his professional boxing record to 7-1. All that’s left to ask is: who will Paul fight next?
Let’s take a look at six potential opponents for Jake Paul’s next fight. To keep things interesting, the first three names are relatively familiar while the last three are some wild cards to spice things up.
Nate Diaz in MMA
We just watched Paul and Diaz duke it out in boxing, but it may not be the last time the pair compete. Paul publically offered Diaz $10 million to fight in MMA. That is a real possibility.
At first glance, it would be insane for Paul to fight Diaz in MMA. Diaz is a BJJ black belt and would present Paul with a lot of issues on the ground. Although, there are serious financial reasons for Paul to enter the world of MMA.
Paul signed with the PFL to compete in MMA. In his agreement, Paul received company equity. That provides him a massive financial incentive to promote the PFL to an audience that does not watch MMA. At this point, Paul putting himself in the cage is a pretty smart way to accomplish that. Furthermore, Diaz is a great dance partner.
This would also be a low-risk, high-reward move for Paul. If he loses, no one with bat an eye because he lost to an MMA fighter in MMA. That would not be great, but he could return to boxing like it never happened. If he wins, his stock skyrockets.
The hurdles here are with Diaz. Throughout the build-up to his fight with Paul, Diaz has stated that he is interested in returning to the UFC. If that is his goal, doing business with the PFL would not be beneficial. The PFL is one of the UFC’s biggest competitors. It is hard to imagine the UFC brass would appreciate one of their biggest stars fighting for a different promotion. At the end of the day, contractual concerns and MMA politics could prevent this from going down.
Tommy Fury
Paul only has one loss on his professional boxing record and Tommy Fury was the man that gave it to him. It would not be a shock to see Paul try and right that wrong.
Fury currently has a fight booked against KSI, who we will discuss later, that could provide a wrinkle into the timing of the rematch. Fury and KSI are set to box on Oct. 14, 2023. If Fury wins that bout, Paul could angle for a rematch.
The Fury rematch will be on the table for the foreseeable future. As long as Paul retains fan interest, people will be more than willing to see him try and right the only wrong in his career.
KSI
KSI has been torn in the side of Paul for a long time. The pair are the two most popular members of the crossover boxing scene by a wide margin. Not to mention, KSI has a win over Jake Paul’s older brother, Logan, and was instrumental in starting the influencer boxing scene.
The idea of Paul vs. KSI will always be a hit. It may not be overly appealing to combat sports enjoyers, but both men bring massive fan bases and would do good work promoting the fight.
As mentioned, KSI is scheduled to fight Fury. If he wins, KSI would gain a ton of respect in the boxing scene and a fight against Paul would make even more sense.
The reason to take this fight is simple for Paul. If he beats KSI, it puts all the influencer discussion behind him and allows him to focus on climbing the combat sports ladder. That sounds quite appealing if that is his end goal.
Nick Diaz
It is time to get a little crazy with ideas. The last three ideas are the most likely opponents for Paul, but let’s have some fun and take a deep dive into a few former fighters that may appeal to Paul.
If you are a die-hard MMA fan, you will probably cringe at the names being thrown out. The only issue is that Paul is clearly interested in fighting legends that are out of their prime, so that’s what we have to appeal to make it somewhat possible.
The wildcard section begins with Nick Diaz, Nate’s older brother. For those that love MMA, they are likely aware that the elder Diaz brother was the founder of the Diaz fighting style. After all, it is called the Nick Diaz Army for a reason.
I am not pulling this idea out of my brain. Instead, Diaz himself took the time during the post-show to say he was interested in some sort of crossover match. Furthermore, he said he was interested in fighting either Paul brother. That opens the idea of having all four brothers on the same card.
What is interesting here is the aforementioned consequences of having Nate fight Paul in the PFL. It may make more sense for Nick to take the MMA fight against Paul to maintain Nate’s relationship with the UFC.
Eddie Alvarez
Eddie Alvarez quietly meets the requirements to fight Paul. Alvarez is a former UFC champion that is no longer with the organization. Plus, he is a 39-year-old that peaked in the lightweight division.
Alvarez has spoken openly about being a prize fighter and that he is in the game to get paid. At this point, he accomplished the goal of becoming a world champion and remains in the game to get paid. Paul can provide a bigger payday than any competitors.
Alvarez would be a strong candidate to fight Paul in boxing or MMA. On the boxing side of things, Alvarez is a striker with minimal professional boxing experience. On the MMA side of things, Alvarez would be more than willing to stand and trade with Paul.
From a promotional perspective, you could probably convince fans that Alvarez has a better chance than previous fighters that Paul has fought.
Anthony Pettis
A lot of the logic in the Alvarez selection can be transferred to a fight against Anthony Pettis. ‘Showtime’ earned gold in the UFC lightweight division and is far out of his prime. Pettis is only 36, but he has fallen on tough times.
Pettis has fought in the PFL before which makes him a reasonable candidate to fight Paul in the promotion. The only issue is that he went 1-4 in the PFL. Actually, that may be a positive if he is looking to fight Paul.
Pettis has also picked up some experience in boxing. In his last fight, the former UFC champion fought 56-year-old boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.
Essentially, Pettis could be a reasonable name for an MMA fight or boxing match. If Paul is diving into MMA, it would be easy to promote a fight with Pettis. All he needs to do is put the Showtime kick on replay and show it to as many people as possible.
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