Jake Paul. IMAGO/USA TODAY
Jake Paul is coming off a ho-hum unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz this past weekend. The damp squib of a fight saw Paul outwork Diaz, who was clearly focused on securing his bag this week and not the W in his pro boxing debut.
The win for Paul restores his bragging rights, which were damaged when Tommy Fury showed us all that Paul, while a great showman, is not a very good boxer (at least when he’s not paired against MMA fighters who have never competed in the sport before).
A loss to Diaz would have likely spelled the end of Paul’s ability to sell PPVs and would have probably meant retirement for ‘The Problem Child’. But as it stands now, he has at least one more golden egg to lay.
Claressa Shields wants in on the Jake Paul gravy train
Self-proclaimed GWOAT Claressa Shields has called out Jake Paul (not for the first time) and promised to beat Paul should they ever square off.
“Facts remain, I’ll get [Jake Paul], too,” wrote Shields on Twitter (X?) before adding that Paul’s display against Diaz was “mediocre”.
The feud between Shields and Paul is at least two years old. Let’s break it down.
In October 2021, when Paul’s star was just starting to rise in combat sports, Shields said she would “embarrass” the influencer if they ever fought.
At this time Shields also bristled at the suggestion that she, an undisputed champ, could appear on a Paul undercard and said it was insulting to suggest such a thing. Don’t tell this to Amanda Serrano, by the way.
After these comments Shields lost in her second ever MMA fight, a split decision to Abigail Montes at PFL 10 in 2021.
Immediately after that loss Paul, tweeted (X’d ?) out “the fake always get exposed“.
Shields responded to challenging Paul to a $100,000 sparring match (something UFC President Dana White would have loved to see).
What’s the chance this actually happens?
I mean, there’s no way, right?
But… this is combat sports. So never say never.
Despite this being the Wild West of athletic entertainment, it feels very unlikely that the stakeholders who back Paul would go in on an inter-gender fight. The optics of such a spectacle feel too icky for us, even in 2023 when it feels like popular culture, and the poor planet, are circling the toilet bowl.
Jake Paul vs. Claressa Shields would certainly draw lots of eye-balls, maybe an unprecedented amount, but I still doubt that’s enough to make anyone (other than Shields excited for the prospect).
This isn’t the first time Shields has looked to take on a male competitor.
Recently she called out former WBA welterweight champ Keith Thurman… who actually accepted a fight (for charity).
A lot of this chatter came after video of Shields “busting up men in sparring” hit YouTube.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeroBqjsTdU[/embed]
Yeah, no way Paul wants any of that.
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About the author
Tim Bissell
Tim is also BE's lead (only) sumo reporter. He blogs about that sport here and on his own substack, Sumo Stomp!
Email me at tim@bloodyelbow.com. Nice messages will get a response.
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