Jake Paul’s next fight could have been significantly more lucrative than the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr bout is expected to be.
The next step in Paul’s polarizing boxing career comes on Saturday, June 28, as the YouTuber-turned-pugilist headlines at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
After Paul’s controversial Netflix clash with Mike Tyson, the Cleveland native will face a pro boxer almost two decades younger than ‘Iron Mike’ in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Following record viewership in Netflix’s combat sports debut, Paul is returning to pay-per-view to square off with Chavez Jr on DAZN. But when it comes to drawing eyeballs and revenue, the Mexican boxer seemingly wasn’t Paul’s most lucrative option.
KSI’s manager valued the Jake Paul grudge match at $300 million
The former Disney star’s career has largely followed a trend of facing MMA veterans past their prime. That’s led to Paul’s knockout win against Tyron Woodley and decisions over Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz.
All the while, one rivalry has long looked set to drag ‘The Problem Child’ back into the YouTube boxing scene.
Talk of Paul fighting KSI has existed ever since the British star’s two matches against Logan Paul. But public negotiations have frequently hit hurdles. The most recent delay came earlier this year, when it appeared Paul vs. KSI was on the table before the Chavez Jr bout was announced.
KSI’s manager, Mams Taylor, berated a supposed lack of “compromise” on Paul’s side, telling Sun Sport it was costing him a potential $300 million matchup.
“If Jake Paul doesn’t come to the table and make some compromise, then the fight’s not going to happen,” Taylor said. “They’re not going to fight KSI unless they have massive advantages.
“It’s so much on the line. The bragging rights for that fight is worth more than the money. It’s a massive money fight too.
“You know, it’s a $300 million, $250 million fight. It’s a massive fight. I don’t think there’s many bigger pay-per-views than that.”
Jake Paul shut the door on long-awaited KSI fight
Paul later confirmed that negotiations had taken place for the KSI bout before he set his sights on Chavez Jr.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the 28-year-old explained that he shut the door on the grudge match to pursue bigger and better fights.
“They only want eight rounds…they just keep adding new stuff (to the negotiations) all the time,” Paul said. “I’m focused on much bigger things.
“I’m all KSI has, he’s literally nothing without the Paul brothers. … At the end of the day, I’m doing much bigger things and don’t need to sit here and be negotiating things on Twitter.
“I don’t (think it’s going to happen),” Paul added. “I’ve been saying this for five, six years. … I’m clearly the one who is an active fighter, I’m fighting everybody, so who’s the problem here? They aren’t a serious boxing brand, Misfits…it’s a circus.”
In the eyes of KSI’s manager, though, there are no “bigger” pairings in the ring for Paul.