Straight after his win by knockout against Mike Perry on July 20, Jake Paul called out Alex Pereira for a boxing showdown. Talking to media at the post-fight press conference at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, the Cleveland native said he had spoken to two-division UFC champion of Brazil.
The conversation started after Pereira responded to Anthony Joshua’s post on X. British wwo-time unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion stated that the Brazilian mixed martial artist “should make a boxing debut one day”.
“I’m honored you think so,” Pereira wrote. “It’s always been my dream, I’m 37 I cannot make a career in it so who do you recommend I fight?”
Former UFC middleweight champion and reigning light heavyweight king, Pereira is fresh off the win by knockout in the second round in a rematch against Jiri Prochazka. Prior to joining Ultimate Fighting Championship, “Poatan” cemented his name as an accomplished kickboxer, securing a number of knockouts, including with devastaing punches against Israel Adesanya, Artur Kyshenko, Dustin Jacoby, among others.
“I love this sport,” Jake Paul said. “He [Alex Pereira] has tweeted about wanting to go into boxing. We got him on FaceTime right there in the ring. And I said, ‘Yo, can you get out of your [UFC] contract?'”
“If he can get out of his contract then let’s run in. When I asked him that, he had a pause. He like looked at his manager. You know, these guys aren’t their own bosses.”
“I want all the smoke. But at the end of the day, will Dana [White] let them out? That’s too big of a risk if I could embarrass his number one praised fighter right now.”
“But I want all the smoke. I want all the MMA guys and I’ve beaten all of them. Who’s next? He’s the king right now of the UFC. So I want him. I’m going to decapitate him and dethrone him.”
In his next fight on November 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Jake Paul is scheduled to face “the Baddest Man on the Planet”, Mike Tyson.