"He's way better than he should be" - Anthony Smith praises Jake Paul, but still believes he's 'not very good'
Jake Paul has been on the receiving end of a tremendous amount of flak ever since he made his way into the combat sports business.
Anthony Smith was one of the most recent fighters to give his take on the YouTube star's venture into the ring. He admitted that Paul was a decent fighter. But he believes 'The Problem Child' still has a long way to go before he can be recognized as a legitimate threat.
While Jake Paul has admitted that he would like to fight worthy opponents, we are yet to see any action on that front.
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Anthony Smith admitted that for a newcomer, Jake Paul has done quite well for himself. But 'Lionheart' says he's yet to do enough to make his way into the big leagues.
While in conversation with the press during UFC Vegas 37 media day last week, Anthony Smith offered his two cents on the matter:
"The mistakes that Jake Paul makes are very amateur mistakes. He's supposed to make those mistakes at this point in his career. He's way better than he should be for the amount of time that he's been fighting, I'll give him that. So I don't think he sucks. I just don't think he's very good."
Anthony Smith states his qualms with Jake Paul
Both MMA fighters and boxers have criticized the YouTuber-turned-boxer for his conduct. They've also slammed his reluctance to compete against recognized strikers and boxers.
Anthony Smith clarified that while Jake Paul has got the media and promotional part of the business on lock, he still has a long way to go to be hailed as a good fighter:
"The media thing, I think he's doing a fantastic job, bringing the pay scale up, been helping other fighters and all that stuff. I have no criticism there. It's just his actual abilities that I have ever criticized."
Catch Anthony Smith's comments at last week's media day in the video below:
Jake Paul has managed to make every single event that he's been associated with a spectacle. However, 'The Problem Child' has caught the ire of a lot of professionals for a clear lack of aptitude for the sport.
Paul's tendency to cherry-pick his opponents has done him no favors in this regard. But should he decide to pick fights against athletes who are not at the tail end of their careers, he could change the perception that the public holds of him.
As far as Anthony Smith is concerned, a win against Jorge Masvidal or even Anderson Silva should do the trick.