Could a fight between world heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk and Jake Paul actually happen – under MMA rules? Usyk, for his part, has not ruled the fight out, while Paul, a genuine marketing machine, has called out all manner of fighters, from Canelo Alvarez to Anthony Joshua, and now Usyk.
And, believe it or not, there could be some real movement with regards to this fight taking place. As per a news story from Sky Sports, Usyk’s team and Paul’s team have held “positive talks,” and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian says a Usyk-Paul fight “is something that will eventually happen.”
Usyk, perfect at 23-0(14) will next face Daniel Dubois, the July fight at Wembley one that will give the Ukrainian the chance to become a two-time unified heavyweight king. While Paul will face Julio Cesar Chavez in late June. Who knows, if both men win they could fight each other inside the cage.
Usyk is game, Paul is reckless – perfect ingredients for nonsense
“We’ve had a couple of conversations, all very positive, and it just depends on how the timing lines up. I think the opportunity is there,” Bidarian said to Sky Sports. “Jake is crazy enough to do it for sure, Usyk’s side seem very interested in it. So it’s just about lining up the timing and I think eventually it’s something that will happen.”
How the fans would react to this fight is anyone’s guess. No doubt some fans would be intrigued by the crossover fight, while others would lay into the fight and call it a gimmick, a veritable waste of their time and a waste of Usyk’s time. There are, the critics would almost certainly say, far more worthy opponents out there for Usyk; Joseph Parker most obviously.
Would fans actually pay for this circus, or finally log off?
But money talks, and Usyk likes trying new challenges. And as MVP’s Bidarian said, Paul is crazy enough to fight Usyk. But would the majority of the world’s fans be crazy enough to pay to watch this fight? Again, could this one really happen?
“Listen, my first sport is not boxing. It’s wrestling,” Usyk said on Game Time a while back. “My father was a military guy. He teach me street fighting, work knife, shooting. I say hey papa, what we do? He say prepare. Prepare for what? Prepare for life. I use jiu-jitsu, karate, wrestling, kickboxing, street fight. [So Jake Paul] no problem. No problem.”
Might Usyk decide to vacate a belt or two after his fight with Dubois, should he win the rematch, and then fight Paul?