JAKE PAUL reckons the heavyweight division is an absolute “shambles” due to the big names not fighting one another.
Pound-for-pound king Oleksandr Usyk was due to face Tyson Fury in an undisputed heavyweight title fight in the spring.
But their historic showdown fell through following a very public and back-and-forth negotiations.
British boxing fans have also been denied a mouthwatering domestic dust-up between Fury and former two-time unified champion Anthony Joshua.
And YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, like many others, reckons boxing’s once premier division is now trailing the lighter weight classes.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, he said: “For me the heavyweight division’s in shambles.
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“The heavyweight division right now is the only division that’s not stepping up to the plate and making the big fights happen.
‘The lightweight division’s doing it, obviously Errol Spence vs Terence Crawford [at welterweight].
“But for some reason in the heavyweight division we’re not getting it.
‘We’re not getting Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua, we’re not getting Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, we’re not getting Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder, we’re not getting Deontay Wilder vs Andy Ruiz Jr.
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‘Like, what are these guys doing?”
Paul, 26, reckons the entire of sport boxing would benefit if the big boys at heavyweight put it all on the line.
He roared: “Come on, let’s make the sport a better place.
“You guys get paid to fight, so get in there and stop ducking each other.”
Although Paul believes the likes of Fury, Joshua and Wilder are to blame for fights not being made, he doesn’t just lay at the feet of this current crop of heavyweights.
He added: “Honestly a lot of the times it goes back to the promoters in boxing blocking everything and wanting to make the most money.
“And who owns the rights to air the content on what platform.
“A lot of times it’s DAZN vs Showtime vs ESPN and it’s all these big parties that get involved.
“But it’s up to the fighters to say, ‘No, let’s push this forward, let’s make this happen regardless of all these crazy things going on.’
“That’s why I give a lot of props to Ryan Garcia, because he was the reason the Gervonta Davis fight happened.
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“He compromised a lot to make it work.”
Former Disney star Paul is currently gearing up to face UFC legend Nate Diaz in a Dallas dust-up on August 5.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
