Oscar De La Hoya says Jake Paul has a future in boxing

By Tim Compton - 04/20/2021 - Comments

Oscar De La Hoya believes that YouTuber Jake Paul is a positive thing for the sport of boxing with him picking out different guys to face on Triller in pay-per-view events.

Oscar notes that the hardcore boxing fans want to see the cruiserweight Jake (3-0, 3 KOs) fight good opposition right away, but that’s not realistic. The 24-year-old Jake Paul didn’t have the benefit of an amateur career in boxing, and he’s just starting out.

It would be a disaster to throw Jake in with high-quality boxers at this early stage in his career before he’s had a chance to learn how to fight.

What we do know from watching Jake in his three fights as a professional is that he’s got massive power that is at the world level, and he appears to be dedicated. In other words, this isn’t just a hobby for him or a ploy to get rich quickly. Jake is already wealthy from his Youtube status.

De La Hoya: This is just the beginning for Jake

“I think he does. he’s a solid fighter who’s just beginning,” De La Hoya said to the DAZN Boxing show when asked if Jake Paul has a future in boxing. “That’s the thing with media.

That’s the thing with being so popular, it’s kind of like a double-edged sword because you’re making so much noise in the boxing industry, in the entertainment industry, you know, and people are expecting you to fight the very best now — go after them, go after the very best.

“If he wants longevity in this game, and he knows what he’s doing,

“He has to just keep it going, keep the train going until you have a train wreck with the very best, and that’s going take a while.”

It would be a mistake to put Jake in with a top cruiserweight like Mairis Briedis or Lawrence Okolie right now. Even matching Jake against a top-five contender like Yuniel Dorticos or Thabiso Mchunu would be criminal. Jake Paul clearly isn’t ready for those types of fighters yet.

But here’s the thing, though. If Jake doesn’t start fighting real boxers instead of basketball, YouTubers, and fat former MMMA fighters, he’s not going to improve enough to fight a top cruiserweight.

Oscar De La Hoya says Jake Paul has a future in boxing

The fact that Jake isn’t talking about wanting to fight a top boxer or a boxer, period, is troubling because it suggests that he’s just using it to take advantage of guys that have no background or affinity in boxing.

If Jake has a future in boxing, as De La Hoya maintains, he’s going to have to stop fighting MMA, basketball, and YouTubers and start focusing on facing real boxers.

Jake isn’t going to learn anything beating up the poor opposition that he’s been facing. If you’re trying to be the best in any given sport, you don’t get there by competing from a different sport. It doesn’t make sense what Jake is doing if you’re trying to argue he’s attempting to be the best. It just looks like Jake is hustling fights the way a pool hustler would be going to different towns to take advantage of poor players.

Askren was coming off hip surgery

A big deal was made about Jake fighting former MMA fighter Ben Askren last Saturday night on Triller pay-per-view in Atlanta. What wasn’t said is that Askren had never been a good stand-up fighter during his 10 years in MMA.

In addition, was coming off hip surgery, and was overweight, and not young at 36. Askren was picked out by Jake’s team despite being retired, overweight, and coming off surgery.

How can Jake improve if he’s going to be picking out non-boxers? The answer is simple; Jake won’t improve, and he’ll likely keep hand-picking beatable guys to sell fights on Triller PPV for as long as the fans are willing to put up with the mismatches.