November 19th 2024.
Daniel Dubois recently reached out to Jake Paul through direct messages, challenging him to a fight. This caught the attention of former world champion Johnny Nelson, who believes it is simply a publicity stunt. However, he also acknowledges that Dubois has every right to try and capitalize on the opportunity.
Last Friday, Paul easily defeated boxing legend Mike Tyson, who is 31 years his senior, claiming to have made €40 million for the fight. Paul's boxing record consists mostly of former MMA fighters, with his only fight against a legitimate boxer, Tommy Fury, resulting in defeat. After his win over Tyson, Paul received invitations from some of the biggest names in the sport, including undisputed light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
On Tuesday morning, Paul shared a direct message exchange with IBF heavyweight champion Dubois, who has been on a winning streak since his destructive victory over Anthony Joshua in September. In the messages, Dubois boldly called out Paul, saying, "Let's get it on." To this, Paul responded by saying he would have his promoter, Nakisa Bidarian, talk to Frank Warren about setting up a fight. He also took a jab at Beterbiev, saying Dubois has more fans.
Nelson, who is not surprised by the interest shown by some of boxing's biggest names, believes this is all just a publicity stunt and doubts anything will come of it. However, he does give credit to Paul for putting himself in a position where he cannot be ignored. Nelson compares it to when Chris Eubank Jr first entered the scene and his father, Chris Eubank Sr, mentioned his name in the same sentence as Gennady Golovkin. This generated a lot of buzz and ultimately led to big fights. Nelson also admits that he is a "boxing snob" and doesn't like the fact that Paul is "buying scalps," but he understands that it's all part of the business.
When asked about Dubois directly calling out Paul, Nelson doesn't see it as a worrying sign. He believes everyone is entitled to jump on the "gravy train," as seen with Tony Bellew and Carl Froch this week. He acknowledges that everyone is trying to make some "mad money" by fighting someone who is considered to be at the domestic level at best. Nelson believes Dubois is just another boxer hoping to take advantage of Paul's delusional mindset. In the end, he understands that this is just the nature of the sport and everyone is trying to make the most of it.
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