Jake Paul was able to extend his winning streak in June when he defeated former world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
‘The Problem Child’ earned a unanimous decision victory in California as Paul went on to call out the likes of Anthony Joshua and Gervonta Davis.
Paul is now officially ranked by the WBA, meaning he is eligible to compete for a cruiserweight world title. However, his next opponent is not yet confirmed.
One potential opponent for the internet star could be a former unified world champion.
Sergey Kovalev calls out Jake Paul for boxing match
Although Tommy Fury has said that he will rematch Paul in the next 12 months, ‘The Problem Child’ may be swayed by attempting to add another former world champion to his resume.
In a recent interview with Seconds Out, former unified world light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev expressed interest in fighting Paul.
Kovalev said that Paul has fought ‘nobody’ and if the American really wants to test himself, Paul should fight him. ‘Krusher’ added, “I want to kick his —.”
In terms of how a fight between him and Paul would play out, Kovalev said that he wouldn’t necessarily knock the 12-1 fighter out, but would make him look like ‘a stupid boxer’ in an “easy fight.”
Giving Paul some credit, Kovalev said that the 28-year-old was a good boxer, but that he had no names on his resume.
Kovalev ended by sending a message to Paul. “Jake, if you’re going to fight, and if you’re going to be a real fighter, in the world, let’s fight.”
Sergey Kovalev last competed in April of 2025 with a TKO win
Paul’s choice of opponent was critiqued when he faced Chavez Jr. However, Kovalev could be considered to be more active in recent years.
Competing as a champion in 2019, Kovalev began a third reign at light heavyweight with a win over Eleider Alvarez. The Russian would then add a notable win to his resume as he was the first fighter to defeat Anthony Yarde.
At the end of 2019, Kovalev welcomed a challenge from Canelo Alvarez for his WBO World Light Heavyweight title. Despite having a good showing after 10 completed rounds, Kovalev was beaten as Alvarez scored an 11th-round knockout.
Kovalev has fought three times since his loss to Alvarez. With two wins and a loss, the Russian’s last outing came in April 2025, as he stopped Artur Mann (22-4) via TKO.
The win improved Kovalev’s record to 36-5-1, as he also has names such as Bernard Hopkins and Andre Ward on his resume.