Luke Rockhold offered to bet his entire fight purse that he would knock out Jake Paul in a boxing match.
Over the past two years, Paul established a boxing resume featuring wins against several MMA legends/superstars, including Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley x2, and Ben Askren. There is now another former UFC champion who believes he has what it takes to knock out ‘The Problem Child.’
During an interview with Chamatkar Sandhu, Luke Rockhold was asked about potentially fighting the YouTuber-turned-boxer. The former UFC middleweight champion responded by saying:
“I’d thrive with that opportunity. I’d all out promise you I put this kid to sleep. I’d put my whole paycheck on it, but he doesn’t wanna challenge himself against a real fighter, someone who’s gonna bite down and put it down. He did fight Tommy Fury, but Tommy Fury, he ain’t like a legitimate boxer trying to go up the ranks. He’s doing those show fights. He’s trying to stay relevant within the space, but he ain’t a killer.”
Jake Paul made his professional boxing debut in January 2020. Since then, he’s established a 7-1 record, with his lone loss being a split decision against Tommy Fury earlier this year.
Based on Paul’s previous opponents, Rockhold seems like a potential candidate for a future boxing match against ‘The Problem Child.’
Luke Rockhold urges Jake Paul to stop fighting smaller opponents
On paper, several of Jake Paul’s previous opponents were arguably undersized compared to what they fought at in their UFC career. As a result, some people have accused Paul of fighting smaller opposition to increase his chance of winning.
During the same interview with Chamatkar Sandhu, Luke Rockhold made similar accusations by saying:
“If you wanna fight somebody and you want to prove yourself to the world that you’re a man, fight somebody your own size. That’s enough of this bullsh*t. Stop bullsh*ting about everything and fighting smaller guys, and acting like you do here for the right reasons and just step up and fight.”
In August 2022, Luke Rockhold’s MMA losing streak was extended to three fights after enduring a unanimous decision defeat against Paulo Costa. Shortly after the loss at UFC 278, Rockhold parted ways with the UFC to explore other opportunities.
He went on to lose a bare-knuckle boxing match against Mike Perry in April of this year.
Earlier this month, the former UFC middleweight champion announced his next combat sports venture would be a submission grappling match against Craig Jones on September 21 at Israel Fight Night 1 in Jerusalem, Israel.
