Daniel Cormier says it’s time for people to start accepting that Jake Paul is a legitimate boxing prospect.
This Sunday, ‘The Problem Child’ will make his seventh walk to the squared circle for a long-awaited clash with another undefeated boxing prospect, Tommy Fury. After the fight failed to materialize on two separate occasions, the third time was the charm for the heated rivals who will finally settle their differences in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Going into the contest, Jake Paul has made his mission very clear. He’s not just gunning for a win over Tommy Fury. ‘The Problem Child’ wants to make a statement by knocking out the first “real boxer” he’s ever faced.
“Jake Paul says that Tommy Fury is a must-finish fight and that he has his eyes set on Nathan Diaz next,” Cormier said during a recent episode of 3 Rounds on YouTube. “I know I’ve said time and time again that it’s time to start taking Jake Paul serious and I feel like he and his team have been committed to this thing and now through the training and the work, he’s starting to see it, visualize it, and state it. He said he’d be disappointed if he didn’t finish Tommy Fury.”
Echoing Jake Paul’s previous comments about the validity of Tommy Fury as his toughest test to date, Daniel Cormier believes that statement would be an insult to fighters like Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley, two men that reigned at the top of their respective divisions in the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world.
“When Jake Paul was asked if this was his toughest opponent he said, ‘No. F*ck no. That would be an insult to Anderson Silva.’ He said that Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley are tougher. He said that he may be faster. He may throw more punches, but he is not tougher than Anderson Silva or Tyron Woodley. We’re talking bout two dudes that have fought at the very top of the UFC. We are talking about two dudes that are as good as they come. That are insanely talented and [Jake Paul] got through both of them.”
Daniel Cormier Believes It’s Time to Start Taking Jake Paul Seriously
After six professional boxing bouts, Jake Paul has remained undefeated and looked consistently impressive, but the fact that he is yet to face a true professional boxer is something that continues to loom large over the social media superstar. He’ll attempt to quiet those particular detractors on Sunday against Tommy Fury, but for Daniel Cormier’s money, it’s time to start taking Jake Paul seriously now and not pending the result of his showdown with ‘TNT’ in Riyadh
“I’m just finding it harder and harder to discredit the kid’s athletic ability. Also, his brother is doing amazing work in the WWE. Like natural. They’re talented. They’re gifted and from my eyes, from an outsider’s standpoint, they work hard because what the kid’s doing is not easy. I mean, I think he might have fought Anderson for 10 rounds. It’s crazy. Just another boxing prospect and I think we should start calling him that because he’s showing through his performance that he deserves at least that title. We’ll see where he goes from there.”
With a win over Fury, Jake Paul will likely find himself with a WBC ranking, meaning he could potentially compete for a professional boxing championship down the line. He’ll also take home some extra cash after the duo made an impromptu winner-take-all bet during their heated press conference appearance.
Will Jake Paul further establish himself as a legitimate boxing prospect with a win over Tommy Fury, or will ‘TNT’ be too much for the YouTube star to handle? Share your predictions in the comments section below.
