Roy Jones Jr wants to fight Jake Paul, but hasn’t yet heard anything officially about a showdown.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul recently defeated 58-year-old heavyweight legend Mike Tyson in a mammoth pay-per-view event.
Naturally a whole host of names from MMA to boxing have thrown their hat in the ring to face Paul next, given the commercial success of his events and the possibility of a mega payday.
Boxing legend Jones Jr has himself fought Tyson in a money-spinning exhibition in 2020, and has been active since initially retiring.
He even returned in 2023 in a full professional bout losing to ex-UFC star Anthony Pettis, and is not done in the squared circle yet.
Rumours have since gathered pace that Paul could next turn to Jones Jr in the new year, after he returned to training and teased an announcement.
But the 55-year-old, while keen to take the fight, has not yet received any concrete offer.
He posted in a statement on Instagram: “This post has cost me many of restless nights due to people wondering.
“LISTEN……… I love what Jake has done for our sport. I also love the time and effort that he’s put forth to develop his craft.
“Being that I was Mikes last opponent before the big exhibition that they put on, I do feel like I’d probably be the most noteworthy opponent at this point.
“HOWEVER………. I have not been contacted about any of these allegations so it is NOT A REALITY at this point in time.
“For the record- just like in my prime, I’m always JUST A CALL away.”
Jones Jr appears to be out of the running for now, and it is unclear if Paul would want to face an ageing legend again.
‘El Gallo’ faced widespread criticism for his selection of Tyson as an opponent, who looked a shadow of his former power-punching self in a real struggle.
But nonetheless it was a huge event, with Paul earning an anticipated purse in excess of £20 million.
A raft of options exist including fights with former rival Tommy Fury, KSI, or even an ambitious clash with Canelo Alvarez.
In an update on his next fight, advisor Nakisa Bidarian said: “Jake’s never been in a more fortunate position in terms of demand.
“Jake has two paths that he’s focused on. The most important path to him is to become a world champion.
“He’s going to continue on the path to grow as a boxer, increasing the level of competition to then get to the point where he can challenge for a championship.
“And then he’s also going to look to do these disruptive, big events which are still going to be very competitive. Very, very competitive.
“Part of when you have so much success is, you know, the biggest names are calling him out, but everyone has an expectation that is I’m gonna make tens of millions of dollars to fight Jake Paul.
“And we pay people very well and we want to be in a business that is profitable for all parties, but we’re not gonna do things that don’t make economic sense.
“We’re holding dates in different cities starting in mid-April all the way through mid-July, so giving ourselves the flexibility to have him return anywhere from April to July.”