In the age of influencer boxing, Terence Crawford isn’t hating, especially not on Jake Paul.
With a 38-0 record and numerous world championships across three weight divisions in boxing, Crawford is universally considered one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the sport. Given his achievements, one might wonder if Crawford is angry at the recent rise in influencer boxing, which has impacted so many other boxers in the sport. But they would be mistaken.
“I can’t knock the next man for putting food on his family’s table,” Crawford told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “It’s entertainment at the end of the day. They’re just going in there to entertain the fans, and if the fans are going to pay them to entertain them, so be it.
” I’ll be watching the true fighters. These guys don’t fight real people, but they do put their lives on the line just as any fighter. Although they’ve been at it for years, this is a new skill and skill level .
Influencer boxing rose to prominence the past few years in large part due to Jake Paul. Paul started his YouTube career as a Disney Channel star and later switched to boxing after he had success in white-collar matches against other YouTubers.
Paul was able to target former MMA champions and became the most well-known face of influencer boxing. He defeated Anderson Silva, the UFC’s former middleweight champion, by unanimous decision. This proved to everyone that the ex-Youtuber was not one to take lightly. Crawford, at least, believes that Paul has earned some respect.
Crawford stated that Jake Paul has been training for many years. “He’s been fighting without head gear and fighting in the back of his yard. Jake Paul is now a pro in the sport. I just want to see him actually fight a real fighter, At this point in time. Any real boxer. You don’t need to be bigger than an MMA fighter. Someone your weight. Give him an actual fight. Test him out. Not somebody in the top-10, just a real fighter that we can say, ‘OK, Jake, you fought such and such, he was ranked 15,’ or something, and we can gauge from there.”
While a ranked opponent is probably not in the near future for Paul at this point, another professional boxer does seem to be next in line, as Paul and Tommy Fury, brother of heavyweight great Tyson Fury, look to finally be ready to settle their differences sometime next year. Crawford, meanwhile, defends his WBO welterweight title against David Avanesyan on Dec. 10 in Omaha, Neb.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/11/27/23471837/terence-crawford-jake-paul-definitely-became-a-professional-in-this-sport-wants-him-face-real-boxer?rand=96749
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