Jake Paul has promised to dethrone Australia’s Jai Opetaia as the greatest cruiserweight on the planet – and as soon as next year – while also declaring Tim Tszyu as being “in his moment” as WBO super welterweight champion.
Elsewhere, the popular Youtuber-turned-boxer is also backing Alexander Volkanovski to not only bounce back from his most recent KO loss, but break one of MMA’s greatest curses when he again defends featherweight gold at UFC 298 this month.
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Already ranked among boxing’s most recognised – and highest paid — athletes, Paul has told Fox Sports Australia he now wants to steal the crown sitting atop Opetaia’s head within the space of two years.
The declaration comes as the 27-year-old finalises preparations for his upcoming bout against fellow American Ryan Bourland (17-2) in Puerto Rico, March 2.
The showdown will be Paul’s third fight since losing a split decision to Englishman Tommy Fury last February – and follows wins over both MMA legend Nate Diaz and Texan Andre August.
While Bourland has fought only once in the past six years, Paul insists the more experienced Californian is his perfect next step towards a title shot against the likes of Ring champion Opetaia.
Asked about the Aussie, who is himself readying to reclaim the vacant IBF strap, Paul said: “I’ve seen some clips of him and he’s a great fighter.
“Great, great fighter.
“He had that crazy knockout in his last fight (against Ellis Zorro), timed that perfectly.
“And he has star potential.
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“Has that star power.
“It could be very interesting to see what happens over the next 18 months to two years.”
So as for how Paul compares himself to the undefeated Opetaia, who in May will rematch Mairis Briedis for the IBF strap he was only recently forced to vacate?
“I’m the best in the world,” Paul stressed.
“That’s what I believe.
“And that’s what every fighter who gets to where they want to be believes.
“And you have to believe it before the statistics or rounds of fights put you there.
“I believe all things considered, my natural ability, my talent, my IQ, all of these things, my ability to learn, to adapt, my toughness, preparation, my will power, my team, all of the things behind me, I believe that I am the best fighter in the world.”
While Paul may have Opetaia in his crosshairs, the American favourite has described WBO champ Tszyu as a fighter now “in his stride” – and is backing the undefeated Sydneysider to beat American superstar Keith Thurman in Las Vegas next month.
“He’s great,” Paul said of the Soul Taker.
“And I think he’s going to win.
“He’s in his moment, in his stride, where as Keith Thurman is not.
“His time has passed.”
Paul also heaped praise on Wollongong native Volkanovski, who defends his featherweight strap for a sixth time against Ilia Topuira at UFC 298 on February 18.
Back in June last year, it was the boxer’s older brother Logan who hosted both Volkanovski and fellow UFC superstar Israel Adesanya at his training base in Puerto Rico.
Chatting together afterwards on a podcast, Logan conceded there was a point when grappling Volkanovski where he felt the champ could have “literally split me in half”
Jake revealed he also spent time with ‘The Great’ during the group’s time in Puerto Rico, recalling: “We got to chat and, yeah, he’s an amazing, salt of the earth guy.
“Super humble.
“Cool.
“A guy’s guy.
“I’m always rooting for Volk.”
Paul added that he was backing Volkanovski to win despite losing to UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev last year – including via a brutal KO in his most recent outing.
Should Volk triumph, he will break a famed UFC curse for guys aged over 35 in title fights between flyweight and welterweight – with statistics showing the older boys have won just two of 33.
Or put another way, a hideous 6 per cent.
“I think he (Volkanovski) is going to win,” Paul said.
“He has a chip on his shoulder.
“Coming off the Islam fights, he’s got a lot to prove here.
“And that’s when you see the best of fighters, of champions when they come off a loss.”
Elsewhere, Paul stressed he has not given up on fighting MMA himself later this year with the PFL, despite Diaz having “ducked” what he insists was a monstrous $15 million contract offer.
Asked how he expected to split his time between a boxing world title tilt and MMA crossover fight, Paul said: “It’s crossing that bridge when I get to it.
“The first thing is having an opponent in MMA that interests me enough to go and do it.
“Someone like a Nate Diaz who we had a $15 million offer to, who didn’t accept it and ducked and ran away.
“So if there was someone who made sense, a big name, and they want to do MMA, then let’s do it.
“I’ll start training MMA because I think it’s going to be fun.
“No boxer has gone in their prime over to MMA.
“You always see MMA fighters go to boxing, so I want to try my hand at something else, challenge myself … I think it will be really interesting.
“But until then it’s all boxing.”
So as for why Diaz hasn’t signed?
“Too much risk, man,” Paul shrugged. “
“He already knows that when we’re standing, I beat his ass.
“And with four ounce gloves, it will be even more difficult.
“He’s not fast enough.
“And with my wrestling background, I have takedown defence.
“His only shot at winning is some sort of submission, but he won’t be able to get me to the ground.
“The only thing I’ll have to look out for is a guillotine.
“And I think he sees that I could ruin his entire MMA legacy.”
Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian added: “As soon as the right opponent comes up, Jake will enter the PFL.
“But it has to be the right opponent.
“He’s not going to fight someone you’ve never heard of.
“And he’s not going to fight someone who has 30 fights and is in the prime of their career when Jake is making his debut.
“It has to be the right combination of experience, star power and winnability.”
Bidarian also doubled down on his client challenging for a world title sometime in 2025, explaining: “Jake’s goal is to be world champion by the time he’s 30.
“He’s just turned 27.
“So it could be 28 or 29 years old.
“I think Jai (Opetaia) has 55 fights between amateur and pro.
“Jake though, after this fight is 10 fights in.
“But if you look at where Jai was 10 fights in compared to where Jake is, when you see those two paths merging, Jake is going to surpass anyone performing well in the cruiserweight division currently.”
But first up, is Bourland.
With the eight-round cruiserweight bout set to act as the co-main event to a showdown between women’s featherweight queen Amanda Serrano and Germany’s Nina Meinke.
“Ryan gives me that experienced guy,” Paul explained of his latest opponent.
“Someone who is going to challenge me, who is going to push me to become the best version of myself in the ring.
“A lot of the big name ‘fighters’, they don’t actually want to fight.
“All the beefs I have with some of these other big names, they don’t want to sign the contract.
“They’re all talk.
“So I’m continuing on my path, which is to be world champion.”