Beterbiev offers Jake Paul title shot: Is this a joke?

Undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev offers YouTuber boxer Jake Paul a free title shot at his four belts at 175 following Jake’s victory over 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson last Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) said he wants to see what Paul (11-0, 7 KOs) “can do inside the ring.” What’s unclear is whether Beterbiev is just kidding to take advantage of the attention the 27-year-old Jake received for beating an old and washed-up Tyson (50-7, 44 KOs) with a wide eight-rounder Unanimous Decision beat.

Tyson was over the hill when he retired 19 years ago in 2005, but last night he was a shell of the then 38-year-old who lost to Kevin McBride in his final fight of his career ahead of last night’s circus level showdown against the influencer Jack. The version of Tyson losing to McBride would have wiped the deck with Jake. It would have been over in the first round, but he’s not that fighter now.

Beterbiev, 39, is next expected to fight a rematch against former WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol after beating him by a questionable 12-round majority decision on October 12 in Riyadh last month. The Saudis want the rematch, but perhaps they are interested in funding a match between the unproven Jake Paul challenging Beterbiev for his belts?

This is a fight that will likely sell on PPV due to Jake’s massive 26 million followers on Instagram and 20+ million YouTube subscribers. This is a large number of people for whom the magician marketer Jake can promote the fight with Beterbiev. It doesn’t matter that these aren’t boxing fans and won’t know it’s a hoax. They will still be interested in seeing the fight, and will gladly pay, because they believe that Jake has a chance.

On the right box side of it. If Beterbiev is serious, it would be an insult to the sport to make a joke of it by choosing to fight an influencer who is more of a boxer than a real boxer. Additionally, it would be 100% unfair to the contenders waiting for their rightful title shot against Beterbiev, such as Bivol and Joshua Buatsi.