Terence Crawford says he has now gained respect for Jake Paul: "He’s got a nice right hand"
Jake Paul dominated Mike Perry en route to a sixth-round TKO victory, winning his fourth consecutive bout. He drew praise from Terence Crawford, who shared that he believes the social media personality has shown signs of improvement.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, the two-division undisputed champion stated:
"I think Jake is getting better. He may need to work on his stamina a little bit, but for the most part, I've gained a lot of respect for Jake because he's not a YouTuber that is just boxing just to box. He actually trains and actually wants to get better and actually has got better and really putting his time, focus and energy into boxing, so you've got to respect that."
Crawford later added:
"A lot of people write Jake off, but Jake can punch with that right hand. He's got a nice right hand. He's building himself up just like a regular boxer... It's just like a professional boxer coming up in the rankings. They're not going straight to the champion. They're going to work their way up and fight the best fights that they can learn from. Not get beat, learn from. So, right now, Jake is still in the learning process."
Check out Terence Crawford's full comments on Jake Paul below:
Crawford revealed that he has no interest in seeing Paul face Mike Tyson due to the latter's age and health concerns. Instead, he advised the 10-1 boxer to continue to build experience.
Jake Paul claims Dana White will not let Alex Pereira face him
Jake Paul found success facing former mixed martial artists in the boxing ring. While he has compiled a 6-0 record against former UFC fighters, he has often faced criticism from fans for facing smaller opponents with a grappling background, who are no longer in their prime.
Following his victory over Mike Perry, the social media personality revealed his plans to silence his critics by facing Alex Pereira. Paul took to X on Monday to call out those who believe he would not pose a threat to 'Poatan', while claiming Dana White would not agree to the bout:
"Hearing all these same mma experts saying Alex Pereira kills me in a boxing fight…fu*king hilarious Dana will never bc he knows betr"
Check out Jake Paul's tweet below:
While it is doubtful that White agrees to the bout, that likely is not due to a fear of the result. The UFC CEO has gone on record several times claiming that he is not a fan of cross-promotional bouts or crossover boxing matches - despite allowing Conor McGregor to face Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
It is nearly impossible to see him working with Paul, who he has publicly clashed with for several years, to bring a potential matchup to life.