Boxing

WBC President Reveals Exactly How Jake Paul Can Earn Title Fight

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman got clear about how Jake Paul can become a world champion.
Grant Young|
Jun 28, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Jake Paul fight at the Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Jun 28, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Jake Paul fight at the Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

After his unanimous decision victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 28, Jake Paul earned the No. 14 spot in the World Boxing Association (WBA) cruiserweight rankings. This was seen as controversial to many, given that Paul only has 13 professional fights under his belt.

However, there's no denying that Paul is one of the biggest stars in the entire sport, regardless of the number of detractors he has. Not to mention that Paul is facing much tougher competition than just about any other renowned boxer would face 13 fights into their professional career.

Paul and his team have stated numerous times that his biggest goal is to become a world champion. They have also made it clear that while they're willing to fight any current cruiserweight champion for the belt (Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez, who fought on Paul's undercard last month, is the reigning WBA champion), they would prefer facing 41-year-old veteran Badou Jack for his WBC belt.

WBC's Mauricio Sulaiman Explains How Jake Paul Can Earn Title Shot

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman conducted a recent interview with Boxing Scene, which was published on July 24. And the article notes Sulaiman saying that in order for Paul to receive a shot at Badou Jack or whoever the reigning cruiserweight champion is at the time, he would first have to defeat one of the WBC's top-15 ranked cruiserweights.

The article also added that Mauricio said Paul needed to, "cross the threshold of defeating long-retired, long-layoff or also-ran contenders in order for the WBC to sign off on a title fight".

Jake Paul
IMAGO / NurPhoto

Paul's next fight announcement will convey a lot when it comes to whether he wants to pursue the title path that Sulaiman laid out or whether he'll want to keep making big-money fights.

There have been recent talks of him fighting either Anthony Joshua or Gervonta "Tank" Davis, and if these came to fruition, it would suggest Paul isn't inclined to fight a relatively unknown WBC cruiserweight to better position himself for a shot at the belt.

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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.