For better or worse, Jake Paul may be the biggest name in the world of professional boxing. Since making his debut back in January 2020, the social-media-influencer-turned-boxer has amassed a 12-1 record as part of some of the biggest fights of the decade, bringing millions of his own fans to the sport. His fights, like the 2024 bout against Mike Tyson, have brought in record numbers, but one boxing legend sees them as nothing more than sideshows.
Jones Jr. spoke with talkSPORT BET in November 2025, ahead of what was supposed to be the week of Paul’s latest Netflix fight, sharing his take that Jake Paul and other influencers’ involvement with the sport is indeed driving interest. However, in comparing it to a “sideshow,” the former world champ believes those personalities are overshadowing the sport biggest talents, saying:
You've turned boxing into the WWE. Everything is a sideshow, and the sideshows are more important than the real shows. You've been seeing two mules racing rather than two thoroughbreds. You don't get enough thoroughbreds racing each other anymore, and you get tired of that. So then you start saying, ‘I'll watch two mules [on Netflix]’ because at least it's a 50-50 fight.
Paul, whose most recent fight ended in a unanimous decision against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over the summer, was scheduled to square off against Gervonta Davis in the upcoming Netflix fight on November 14. However, that fight was scrapped after Davis was named in a civil lawsuit, per ESPN. Now, the social media influencer and brother of WWE superstar Logan Paul is on the search for a new opponent, but it likely won't be any of the sport's best pound-for-pound brawlers.
One name that keeps coming up in regard to Paul’s next opponent is welterweight contender Ryan Garcia, who is reportedly high up on his list, per ESPN. While Roy Jones Jr. does see the potential in that match and understands why people would watch it, it sounds like the former champion is worried about other high-profile bouts getting sidelined because of it. In his words:
For example, Jake can beat Ryan because of Ryan’s size, but if Ryan can catch him with a left hook, Ryan can also knock him out. So it's a 50-50 fight. That's why people would be interested in that fight. But why couldn't we get fights like Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua? We aren't getting it. ... That's why these influencers now have gained more interest than the boxers because at least the influencers are giving you 50-50 fights.
As Jones points out, a number of other high-profile matches haven’t gone down despite fans and the boxing world in general wanting them to happen. The matches involving influencers like Jake Paul and KSI, without the prestige and championship ramificaitons, at least end up being 50-50 fights and actually take place, sometimes without forcing fans to wait as many as five years to happen.
Love him or hate him, Jake Paul, who is officially ranked by the World Boxing Association, has a massive profile in the boxing world and pop culture in general, and he knows how to entertain. Whether it's the matches themselves or everything leading up to them, the social media influencer deserves all the fame and attention.
It’s not yet known when we’ll get to see Jake Paul’s next fight with a Netflix subscription, but with talk of it going down before the end of the 2025 TV schedule, I’m sure we’ll be hearing about it a great deal very soon.
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