Sam Hodde/Getty Images
American YouTuber and professional boxer Jake Paul believes he is on the trajectory to fight super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez someday.
Paul made the remarks to Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour (h/t Jed I. Goodman).
“I think the path that I’m on now tees me up in the future to fight Canelo,” Paul said in part.
“You know, it’s even just showing him that I can go 10 or 12 rounds with you, and I’ve done that with real, legitimate pro boxers and beat them. So when I beat these guys in the year or two to come and continue to raise the level of opposition, I think me vs. Canelo becomes a really interesting fight…”
Paul has previously made it clear that he would like to fight Álvarez someday, as per his Oct. 2 Instagram post featuring a mock-up boxing poster with the two fighters.
“Logan fought Floyd and one day I will fight Canelo and show the world why I’m the greatest sports story ever,” Paul said in the post. “See you soon Saul. Manifestation is real.”
Álvarez previously said in August on “The Breakfast Club” (h/t DAZN’s Mark Lelinwalla) that he’d be interested in a fight with Paul but down the road.
“Yeah maybe, why not?” Alvarez said about a fight.
But he added: “Not right now. For me, not right now because I’m chasing other things in my career. We never know. Maybe later.”
He also specified that he’d be interested in a post-retirement bout and added he didn’t believe a fight with Paul would last long.
Paul, 26, is 7-1 lifetime professionally with four knockouts. He has boxing wins under his belt against MMA fighters Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley (twice) and Ben Askren. His lone loss came against professional boxer Tommy Fury via split decision.
Álvarez has won championships in four weight classes and has held unified titles in three of them. The 33-year-old is 60-2-2 lifetime with 39 knockouts.