Boxing

Jake Paul Cites Floyd Mayweather In Blunt Message About Boxing 'Respect'

Jake Paul called out several legendary boxers for the respect they've shown him amid constant criticism.
Grant Young|
May 14, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Jake Paul speaks at press conference in anticipation of his fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at Avalon Hollywood Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
May 14, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Jake Paul speaks at press conference in anticipation of his fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at Avalon Hollywood Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Jake "The Problem Child" Paul is a short time away from facing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Anaheim, California, on June 28. This marks the first time Paul has fought since defeating a 58-year-old Mike Tyson back in November, in what was Netflix's first-ever live sports event.

Throughout his boxing career, Jake Paul has faced a ton of criticism from fans and members of the boxing media. Fans have been quick to call Paul out for fighting older guys, primarily MMA fighters, and otherwise hand-picking opponents that, in the fans' eyes, Paul believes he will easily be able to beat.

And media members like to call Paul out for being bad for boxing, despite all the attention and eyeballs he has brought to the sweet science that otherwise likely won't have been watching. Even as he continues to rack up wins, Paul continues to get criticism and doubters from all corners of the boxing community.

However, in the lead up to Saturday's fight against Chavez Jr., Paul sent a strong message about his doubters — while also shouting out several boxing legends.

“I don’t really care [about doubters]. I’ve seen who they cheer for, so I don’t care who they criticize. And meanwhile, they’re hyping up these fights where the fighters are throwing six punches a round, and it’s the most boring fights we’ve seen this year," Paul said, per an Instagram post from DAZN.

“I understand why people want to safeguard their sport, protect it, criticize me and pull me down, all of these things. But they don’t know who I am, they don’t know how serious I take the sport," Paul continued.

“The real ones — Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Manny Pacquiao, even Floyd [Mayweather] — all of these people are the ones who give me the respect, and see what I’ve done for the sport. And that’s what really matters. Not the reporter, or the boxing critics who are of course going to talk s*** about me.”

It's cool to see that Paul is noticing all the respect the aforementioned boxing legends have given him.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.