British boxing icon Ricky Hatton has fired a brutal shot at YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul, saying that The Problem Child and his fellow social media stars will “never be taken seriously by the boxing community”. When speaking to Gambling Zone, The Hitman also dismissed Paul’s claims that he wants to fight Canelo Alvarez and claimed he would be “in trouble” in the “real world of professional boxing”.
He said: “Jake Paul turning around and saying, “I want to fight Canelo Alvarez”. Shut up! You’re not going to fight Canelo Alvarez – you couldn’t live with Canelo Alvarez – just see your fights for what they are. The boxing community doesn’t begrudge Jake Paul the opportunity to go and make that type of money, but just keep it real, you know what I mean. If Jake Paul come into the real world of professional boxing, he would be in trouble! I think all professional fighters would say that Jake Paul would struggle (in professional fights), but they’d still wish to be in his shoes (laughs).”
Hatton revealed that he is worried that professional boxing is “getting left behind” by YouTube and exhibition fights, while also musing on how wow well the likes of Paul and Tommy Fury would get on at a professional level. He said: “I am worried that boxing is getting left behind for events like Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury and I don’t blame any of these guys for doing it and taking the money. I think most boxers would wonder how well guys like Tommy Fury or Jake Paul would get on in the professional game. Would they get to a European title? Would they get to a British title? That remains to be seen. Can you blame them for taking the opportunities? Any professional boxer would jump at the chance to perform in front of those kind of audiences for those types of sums. It is what it is.”
Hatton concluded by paying Paul a backhanded compliment, adding: “It’s social media boxing. One’s a rapper, one’s from YouTube…you can’t blame them for going into the hardest game of all and stepping out of their comfort zone. Boxing isn’t they’re area of expertise, so to give it a go, a proper go, you’ve got to take your hat off to them. These fights attract huge audiences because they’ve got so many followers. They need to keep it real. Professional boxers know what level they’re at and what these fights are all about.”