It’s been a rough few days for Jake Paul as Canelo Alvarez appeared to use his name as a bartering chip to secure a better deal with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season.
Paul and Canelo were reportedly set to fight, with promoter Eddie Hearn fanning the flames by saying Canelo would fight Paul for the right amount of money. Since then, Saudi Arabia has won the bidding war for Canelo, and Alalshikh taunted Paul with the announced four-fight deal.
Regardless, fight fans weren’t happy with Paul, who fought at heavyweight against Mike Tyson, challenging Canelo, who stands five inches shorter and competes in much lighter divisions.
To combat this issue, a much more suitable matchup for Paul is now on the table, as a former heavyweight world champion has issued ‘The Problem Child’ a challenge.
Andy Ruiz Jr. challenges Jake Paul to a boxing super fight
Former heavyweight champion of the world, Andy Ruiz Jr., took to Paul’s fight-cancellation Instagram post on February 7, registering his interest in an influencer showdown.
“I’m down to fight my brotha,” Ruiz Jr. wrote. “Let me know, it would be an honor for my fans and my Mexican people.”
Ruiz Jr. last fought in August 2024, where he went to a contentious majority draw with ‘Big Baby’ Jarrell Miller. ‘The Destroyer’ has only fought three times since his unanimous loss to Anthony Joshua in their rematch in 2019.
Andy Ruiz Jr.’s claim to fame was one of the biggest upsets in boxing history
Ruiz Jr. was a name familiar only to hardcore boxing fans before 2019. The California-born heavyweight was a fringe contender with one controversial loss at the hands of Joseph Parker in enemy territory. His golden opportunity came when then-undefeated Anthony Joshua sought to make his US boxing debut.
‘AJ’ was scheduled to face Miller, but the fight was scrapped when Miller popped for an inordinate amount of performance-enhancing drugs, and Ruiz Jr. came as a late replacement. Joshua and Ruiz Jr. couldn’t have been more juxtaposed, with Joshua’s 6’6″ frame packed to the brim with muscle and the comparatively shorter Ruiz Jr. being thick-set and unassuming.
Ruiz Jr. would show everybody what he’s all about after enduring a knockdown in the third round of their fight before bouncing back with a shot to the temple that had Joshua bouncing around the ring like a baby deer. Somehow, the Brit made it to the seventh round, where Ruiz Jr. stopped the contest with two more knockdowns, causing a monumental upset akin to Buster Douglas vs. Mike Tyson in 1990.