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Cruiserweight control: How would a Jake Paul world title shot upend divided division?
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Badou Jack wasn't always so keen on Jake Paul. The Swedish fighter was particularly mixed in his assessment when he was asked for his thoughts almost half-a-decade ago.
"I don’t think he’s a real boxer,” he told the DAZN Boxing Show back in 2021. "I mean, he’s a boxer because he trains hard and it’s his life, he’s a social media boxer."
"He’s corny, he’s not that good, but you can’t knock his hustle. He has all the boxers calling him out, he's making money, he’s doing a great job, regardless what you think of him."
It is the disconnect that sits at the heart of the so-called influencer boxing wave that has swept across the sport over the past five years or so; a question of professional legitimacy.
Back then, Paul was a fledgling figure on the scene, a man whose sheer power as a social media star could draw arena-sized sell-out crowds but did not buy him a seat at the table.
Four years on, the tables have turned. The 28-year-old is no longer trading blows with ex-YouTubers or mixed martial artists across six-round scraps for a commercial enterprise.
Now, he seeks to validate his position as a geniuine crossover success story with the dream of a title shot at cruiserweight, a Rocky-adjunct moment to fight for a major strap.
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Jack, the WBC champion, has changed his tune somewhat. No longer does he seemingly consider Paul below his interest - now, he sees him as a potential foe to take his belt.
The veteran fighter has no illusion that his motive would be to make a shedload of cash, stating last month: "It's a money fight. It's an easy fight and it's a money fight So, why not?"
Except would it be an easy fight? Paul may not have amassed many miles on the clock against currently ranked foes - but with every bout he takes, he has shown clear growth too.
November's points victory over Mike Tyson might not have been the explosive contest many of his fans - and detractors - hoped for, but his command of the ring was there to see.
His next bout this weekend, against former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. marks another major milestone on the road to testing himself against the big guns.
If Paul comes through - and comes through impressively, let it be said - then the clamour will grow for him to be sanctioned by his supporters, to be given a crucial ranking position.
The WBC have openly flirted with the suggestion he could be awarded a spot, with president Mauricio Sulaiman mulling a position around last year's fight with Tyson in Texas.
Then too there is the box-office draw the Ohio native holds across multiple state lines. His last fight produced the biggest gate in US boxing history for a bout outside Las Vegas.
Jack may call it a money fight, but it isn't just money too - it's the chance for him, or any other fighter bar a select few to draw the biggest number of eyeballs they'll ever see as well.
If Paul prevails in Anaheim and improves to a 12-1 professional record, the pathway is conceivably clear to the Swede, a man open to the prospect of a supersized dance himself.
As boxing matchmakers old and young can attest though, it is never that easy - and in a divided division with plenty keen to unify, there's a slew of others jostling for a chance.
There is a curious twist to Paul's latest bout in that he will co-main the event with a first double-defense for Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez, who puts his WBA and WBO titles on the line.
The Mexican, who outpointed Chris Billam-Smith last year to unite the two, faces the challenge of ex-two-time champion Yuniel Dorticos, bidding for a third stint with belts in hand.
If he wins, Ramirez surely will have his eyes on both Jack and Jai Opetaia, the IBF champion who has made short work of several challengers in recent times himself, too.
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The Australian adds a further wrinkle to the conversation, as he too is open to a potential bout with Paul, though he surely would favour a shot at a second belt in the division.
Then there is Noel Mikaelian. The former WBC champion, he claimed the belt after Jack originally vacated it in 2023, but was subsequently stripped of his strap last December.
He challenged the reinstated Jack in May, and seemingly outboxed him on the night, only to lose a controversial majority decision call that prompted outrage from his team.
An appeal for an immediate rematch was unexpectedly granted by the WBC, ensuring a second dance that could yet see the belt change hands once again between the pair.
Throw in Billam-Smith, who rebuilt with a win over Brandon Glanton in April, plus Yamil Peralta and Ryan Rozicki - who have their own rivalry to boot too - and it gets crowded.
There will be plenty of fighters who are furious if Paul is fast-tracked to a world title shot over the next year-and-a-half, many who boast longer resumes and old-school pedigrees.
Certainly too, many would be all too happy to take the money for a chance to put him in what they see as his place, well out of the conversation and away from the summit.
At the end of the day however, it is the champions and the bodies that sanction them that make the decisions - and there seems to be enough legitimate interest in such a dance.
Paul must still defeat Chavez Jr., add another notch to his belt, another famed-name scalp for his hunter's collection to be hung in the trophy room of his combat achievements.
But if he can keep his end of the bargain and come through the other side, then it seems possibly sooner rather than later that he may cut through for a Hail Mary at the very top.
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