‘Jake Paul Isn’t a Boxer’: ‘Problem Child’ Joins Canelo Alvarez & Tyson Fury on Highest-Paid Boxer List, but Fans Aren’t Buying It

Is Jake Paul a real boxer? Let’s see. He has fought twelve times in the squared circle, winning eleven of those fights with seven knockouts. Technically, he’s also the only man to win a fight against Mike Tyson in over a decade. But that’s just a technicality, isn’t it? Because despite the Netfleix-streamed fight earning a staggering $48 million, fans simply can’t seem to recognize him as a true pugilist.

In the course of his short career, Jake has fought and won against legends like Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley. However, these are MMA legends. Silva was in his late 40s when he lost to Jake and Woodley was practically retired from mixed martial arts. In fact, the only time he fought a pro boxer in his prime was in 2023 against Tommy Fury and he lost that fight.

So when he was categorized as one of the six boxers who made it to the list of the highest-paid athletes for 2024 along with Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua among others but the boxing community wasn’t too pleased.

One fan sarcastically wrote, “Calling Jake Paul a boxer is like saying your granny is Rocky Balboa,” highlighting the belief that Jake is more of an entertainer than a serious fighter. Another echoed this sentiment stating, “5 boxers and a content creator”; a suggestion that while the other athletes on the list have proven themselves in the sport, Paul was merely capitalizing on his social media fame.

Another fan bluntly dismissed Paul’s credentials, saying, “Jake Paul isn’t a boxer. He’s never beaten anyone,” while another added, “All of these are real boxers except for one person.”

The criticism continued, with one comment pointing out, “Jake Paul made $48M dancing in a boxing ring. Wow,” implying that his fights lack the true grit and competition of real boxing. Another comparison was drawn to fictional characters, as a fan joked, “Adding Jake is like adding Rocky or Creed”.

Despite the backlash, Jake’s ability to generate revenue and attention in the sport is undeniable. While traditional boxing purists may never accept him as a legitimate competitor, his success in drawing massive paydays and mainstream attention suggests that he’s here to stay.

However, this doesn’t mean he gets whatever he wants.

Jake still bitter about Alalshikh snaking Canelo

Earlier last week, reports had emerged suggesting that Jake and Canelo had signed a deal to duke it out sometime in 2025. Jake had been calling for the bout to be made for years now and it made sense for him. It would have given him much-needed credibility, while also arguably being the biggest payday of his career.

Unfortunately, just a day after the news about the matchup, Turki Alalshikh announced having signed Canelo for a huge four-fight deal for the Riyadh season.

Canelo is now fighting in May and is likely to face Terence Crawford. For fans of the sport, that is great since these are two of the best pound-for-pound pugilists on the planet. For Jake, however, it meant betrayal. ‘The Problem Child’ shared a document on social media moments after the signing was announced with both Canelo and his signatures and claimed the Mexican maverick had sold out for money.

“Truth is, you (Canelo) can be bought. You’re a money hungry squirrel chasing your next nut. These sport washing shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars to stop our fight from happening.”

Funnily enough, when Alalshikh was asked about it, he suggested that Jake fight with fellow YouTuber Mr.Beast, implying Canelo would only fight real challengers.

Days later, Jake was seen trolling Canelo by donning a sombrero and dancing to traditional Mexican music!

To what end, only he could say but as of right now, it just seems like he cannot digest the fact that Alalshikh took the biggest opportunity of his career when he was at the 1-yard line!