Who Should Jake Paul Fight Next?

 Who Should Jake Paul Fight Next? 

             

On Saturday night we had two sporting events one being the UFC Fight Night and the other being the celebrity boxing fight between former Olympian/MMA fighter Ben Askren and Youtuber Jake Paul. Yes Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum put on a good fight on ESPN but it was the boxing fight that stole the show. Jake Paul went from YouTube famous to world famous in just a couple of fights. Paul followed older brother Logan Paul's footsteps by fighting a fellow Youtuber AnEsonGib. Paul won by TKO then immediately was looking for another celebrity to knock out. Step up former NBA star Nate Robinson. Paul has clearly been training because he doesn’t look terrible even in videos. Robinson didn’t take the fight seriously, probably thinking he’d out perform Paul because he’s a professional athlete and Paul was not. Robinson didn’t train. Paul knocked him out in the second round. The fight looked like Robinson maybe never even been in a fight before. He straight charged Paul with his chin up. Anyone with any IQ could have won that fight. Askren immediately criticized Paul for the win. Saying he was basically an annoying kid that got a lucky fight against a non fighter. Paul and Askren went back and forth on social media before and after the Robinson fight. Askren said that he would take a fight against Paul because he’d get paid to punch him in the face. So guess what? They actually booked Askren vs Paul. Which brings us to Saturday. If you know anything about MMA Askren was never known for striking. Askren actually was looked down on for never really looking to strike. At 19-2 Askren used to wrestle his opponents. That style did him well in MMA but in boxing he has a big problem. Many thought Askren would at least be competitive because of his fighting experience. For example myself thought Askren was going to beat Paul even knowing how bad he was at striking. Askren has faced the top athletes for years. He took punches from Robbie Lawler how could you not think he could take one from Paul? Paul did what he had to do. He trained well enough on the feet, promoted the fight well with Askren, brought in legit coaches, and finished Askren in the first. Now he can ride the wave. He's a real boxer for a bit long. Making people like me look like a bunch of bozos for a little while longer. While selling 1.5 million pay per views. Not going to lie, this loss hurts more than most couldn’t imagine what Askren is going through. Nonetheless Paul will probably box again. Why not? You make millions and don’t have to fight anyone that is tough in a boxing ring. Many wonder if Paul is legit. A win against Askren doesn’t tell us he is. If you were Paul would you rather fight someone real or beat up another celebrity for a million? Well the answer is quite obvious. However, who should Paul fight next? That’s what that’s going to be answered. Remember this isn’t about what fight Paul should take for one big pay day it’s about the next fight Paul should take for a big pay day and to keep his cloud nine steak going. 

3 Any Professional Athlete not an MMA or Boxer: Yes any of them because you’ll probably get one that has barely ever trained boxing. Jake Paul had boxing IQ in a way as he showed on Saturday. The knockout punch was set up by multiple body shots previously. Askren thought another body shot was coming so he went to block for that not the case an overhand right that landed perfectly on the chin. Paul has been training boxing for a few years now if he’s training like he says then another pro level athlete that’s not a boxer should be an easy fight. He will have gone into the ring before when the other athlete did not. He’s basically fighting an amateur for a pro level paycheck once again. Paul would be ahead in training and used to the little bumps and bruises you get in training camps. So if a professional fighter is offered but a big name former athlete is offered Paul should take the guy who’s never fought before. Take the guy who’s never been in a boxing fight or a fight in general at all is way easier than a professional fighter because most MMA fighters hands aren’t as bad as Askren’s.

2 Dillon Danis- To be honest the Dillon Danis fight could be a fun fight in general. Dillon Danis for the ones who don’t know him is a BJJ world champion who is currently fighting in Bellator. Danis is Conor McGregor's little prodigy. Danis was heavily involved in Conor McGregor’s beef with Khabib and his team. Actually when Khabib jumped the cage after the McGregor fight he was jumping at Danis. Let’s just say Danis does love to talk. Paul and Danis have been talking over social media for years. Danis has claimed he’d knock Paul out for years. Paul has made multiple videos where he’s mocked Danis and his team. Danis and Paul really don’t like each other. That's the first reason why the fight is fun. Danis so far has been able to back the talk up with two first round submission wins in both of his Bellator appearances. However what makes the Paul fight fun is that Danis is a very high level Jiu-Jitsu fighter. Which brings the question once again how good is his striking? We don’t know that’s what makes the fight. Paul could be a better boxer and with no threat of takedown standing straight up in a boxing ring Paul could win by TKO again. The fight makes sense the same reason why the Askren fight made sense. Fight the grappler that’s your best shot. Danis is also young. That gives Paul an opportunity to beat another professional fighter than say he wasn’t old like Askren. That would boost Paul’s brand more and get casual hyping him up. 

1 BJ Penn- Yes Jake Paul should be looking for a fight between the legendary BJ Penn. For most the fight wouldn’t make sense. BJ Penn is not just a legit grappler but in the UFC octagon Penn has proven he’s a legit striker. Many know BJ Penn’s name. That’s the first reason why Paul should take the Penn fight. The name value of the fight in general. Second reason is many THINK BJ Penn is a badass. In fact he was BJ Penn at one point was very bad ass. Nowadays not so much? Not just because Penn had the worst come out of retirement comeback in history. BJ Penn is not his old self at all. Many in the MMA community including UFC president Dana White have talked about how they’ve worried about Penn’s health over the years. There’s a video out there of Penn being knocked out by a random chubby dude at a bar in Hawaii a year or two back. Penn is not his old self which is exactly why Paul should take the fight. He could knock out Penn and claim he knocked out a legit fighter. When in reality Penn is not nearly half the fighter he was when he was the UFC Lightweight champion. However the casual doesn’t know that. The people buying the pay per view probably don’t know that. Paul would knock out Penn, build his brand way more than any other nonsense fight, get to say he knocked out a real fighter, and get a step closer to the McGregor payday. 

That’s my top three fights that Jake Paul should take to keep his hype train going. Listen he can’t fight someone such as Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz, or Tommy Fury they can actually throw hands. They actually have high level boxing skills. Paul does not have those high level skills he beats up the worst strikers to be allowed to strike. Paul shouldn’t take a real fight if he wants to keep his dream of being a boxer at the moment going. Many boxers fight bums in the beginning of their careers so it’s not crazy he’s getting washed up fights. It’s just how long he can get them before people are bored. For now a tad longer. That’s why Penn is washed up and Paul can market that as he beat a UFC champion. It’s a win win. The only legit fight Paul should take is the McGregor fight. That’s a legit payday that you can never fight again after. Take a knockout for 20-30 million. That would be beating the system. However who knows what Paul will do next. For his sake he won’t take a fight against a real fighter. 

By Matthew Doherty 

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