Floyd Mayweather will put his unbeaten record on the line to fight Jake Paul in a professional bout
Floyd Mayweather has said he will fight Jake Paul in a professional capacity if the YouTuber-turned boxer agrees to match his current weight.
Mayweather retired from professional boxing after extending his unbeaten record to 50 fights against MMA star Conor McGregor in 2017. Since then he has been taking part in exhibition bouts and most recently beat Mikuru Asakura in Japan.
Meanwhile, Paul will return to the ring in a high-profile bout with UFA star Anderson Silva next month after taking some time out following his victory over Tyron Woodley in December 2021.
Floyd Mayweather (above) has said he will fight Jake Paul in a professional capacity
Mayweather has criticised the quality of Paul’s opponents and said he would put his unbeaten record on the line to face the YouTube sensation in a professional bout.
Speaking to TMZ, Mayweather said: ‘I think he [Jake Paul] was doing a sit-down on a podcast one time. He talked about it and he said, I don’t want to do an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather.
‘He [Paul] said, I’m only doing real fights. And of course, I can’t get high up in weight, but I’ll fight him in a real fight at the weight that I’m at.’
However, Mayweather has said Paul must match his current weight to take the fight
Mayweather beat MMA star Mikuru Asakura in their exhibition bout in Japan over the weekend
Paul responded to Mayweather’s comments by saying he would end the boxing legend in just six rounds. He Tweeted: ‘My brother took you the distance. I would finish you in 6.’
Paul added: ‘@StephenEspinoza please make this fight happen so I can send him into proper retirement.’
Paul’s brother Logan has previously Mayweather in an exhibition bout. The fight between the YouTuber and the former five-division world champion went the distance.
Many boxing analysts, experts and former fighters said Paul won the first two rounds of their exhibition bout. However, Logan had landed 28 of his 217 punches by the end of the fight, while Mayweather had connected on 43 of his 107.
Mayweather previously fought Paul’s brother Logan in an exhibition bout (pictured above)
YouTuber Paul has said he would need just six round to ‘finish’ off the boxing icon
Mayweather has praised Paul – the brother of Logan – for his rise to stardom in the boxing world. He said the YouTuber was ‘entertaining’ and he ‘liked’ his approach to the sport.
Mayweather said: ‘Jake Paul, as of right now, for what he’s doing, it’s good for what he’s doing. But once he fights a real actual real fighter, it’s gonna be bad. But one thing I like about him: He’s selling it and he’s making good money. He’s entertaining. I like it.’