Jake Paul has reiterated his desire to face Canelo Alvarez with victory over Mike Tyson this Friday.
Paul faces Tyson in a controversial, yet highly-anticipated heavyweight showdown at AT&T Stadium, live on Netflix.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has been vocal in his desire to meet the Mexican four-weight world champion and believes it could be staged for a cruiserweight world title, a weight Alvarez has never fought at.
Canelo has previously been dismissive of facing ‘The Problem Child’, but in May, the 34-year-old told reporters that he would perhaps give him an opportunity in two years.
Paul claims his bout with he will smash the 73,126 attendance record Alvarez set when he beat Billy Joe Saunders at the home of the Dallas Cowboys stadium in May 2021 and believes the unified super middleweight champion will have to regain his status as the face of boxing by fighting him.
“It’s Canelo,” Paul told Suga Sean O’Malley.
“This moment will prove that I’m the face of boxing.
“The largest attraction and me vs Canelo at 200lbs for the cruiserweight championship of the world is arguably even bigger than me vs Tyson and it makes so much sense.
“Canelo’s on his way out.
“He’s going to want a payday and I want to show the world that all the s*** I’ve been talking about beating Canelo is actually true and I will have the biggest upset in the sport of boxing.
“We will fight to really see who is the face, because after this event I’m going to be claiming it.
“I beat his gate record in Texas. I’m beating the ticket sales, all of that stuff.”
Alvarez has been as high as light heavyweight on two occasions, knocking out Sergey Kovalev to win the WBO title in November 2019, but fell short in his bid to become WBA champion in May 2022 against Dmitry Bivol.
The WBC approved Alvarez’s request to challenge then-WBC cruiserweight champion, Ilunga Makabu in November 2021 and given the fight never materialised, Paul believes the Guadalajara native will still have the desire to claim a cruiserweight belt.
Asked if he thinks Alvarez will agree to face him, the 27-year-old replied: “He will.
“The reason being is that he will want his fifth weight division championship.
“He’s wanted the cruiserweight belt.
“He was going to challenge Makabu to become cruiserweight champion, so he wants to conquer that division to be able to call himself a crusierwight champion and that’s where the fight makes sense.
“I can’t make 175lbs and so this fight should be for a belt and it makes the most sense at cruiserweight.”
