Roy Jones Jr is one of the most legendary fighters in boxing history, but even he is unsure whether he’d have what it takes to beat Jake Paul.
Roy Jones Jr attended the IBA’s recent star-studded event in Turkey, in which Jazza Dickens stopped Albert Batyrgaziev, an Olympic Gold medallist, for the IBA title.
Jones retired as a pro in 2018, but had an unsuccessful comeback in 2023. In 2020 he also faced Mike Tyson in an exhibition match which saw the conception of Jake Paul‘s boxing career on the undercard.
Paul has come a long way since then, and Jones believes he could go even further.
Roy Jones Jr believes Jake could become a world champion, and a fight with him would be 50/50
Roy Jones Jr, who KO’d a fan once, spoke to Fight Hub TV on Jake Paul’s recent fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, and had some surprising things to say.
“Jake, to me, has always been an awesome power-puncher. People don’t like to give him credit for his boxing but he is a power-puncher. […] People better take Jake serious because he is serious.”
“I think he has a great chance to become a world champion, yes.”
When put on the spot, and forced to say if Jake would become champion, though, Jones said ‘No’, for one reason.
“I think if they make him fight tough opponents, guys with experience, those guys would beat him. Now if he gets somebody like myself, at the end of their career, or somebody like Tyson, […] the chances are much higher, now it becomes more of a 50/50.”
Jones, who lost to Bernard Hopkins, believes him vs Paul would be a 50/50 fight owing to his age and time out of the ring.
“You’ve got a guy who’s better than him, but there’s the age factor. […] It kind of evens the stakes.”
Roy Jones Jr. inadvertently created Jake Paul’s boxing career
In January 2020, Paul faced AnEsonGib in a YouTuber vs YouTuber boxing match which saw Paul win in one round.
Though this was his first professional fight, his career in the sport truly launched 10 months later, when he knocked out Nate Robinson, a basketball player, in round two.
This knockout, in Paul’s first fight against someone who wasn’t a YouTuber, featured on the undercard of Roy Jones Jr vs Mike Tyson.
It was the last time Paul would fight on an undercard, as his boxing career was well and truly in motion after his appearance on the legend’s bill.