Look at my title and then ask yourself "is there such a thing as a "legit" boxing association?" I think probably not but the WBA, WBC, and WBO certainly have more credibility than a private promotion such as the one Jake Paul owns and coincidentally is the top fighter for.
So I spend a lot of time criticizing Jake Paul for not being a good boxer but just cruising to a good record because he gets to pick and choose his opponents and since he is the main owner in the promotion, there is always a suspicion of nasty things happening behind the scenes such as "no KO clauses" for his opponents. There is no proof of this of course but when there is double-digit millions involved, who is going to leave a breadcrumb trail?
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I actually gotta hand it to Jake, he is the ultimate heel. Ric Flair, The NWO, Kurt Angle and Roddy Piper can't hold a candle to him. To be fair those names are all from a fake sport but Jake has managed to make boxing seem fake. There are a few stories throughout time of boxing matches being rigged for gambling purposes but Jake isn't really even doing that. There is no proof of the fights being rigged aside from the fact that he has only once fought a semi-active actual boxer... and he lost.
The rest of his fights he has cruised to victory with nobody really appearing to give him much of a challenge. I, like most boxing fans, feel as though he doesn't deserve any sort of global ranking and most reputable non-partial websites rank him globally at around number 70 and this is more likely because the waters get kind of muddied about who the hell anyone actually is once we go down the ladder that far.
Well after Jake's unanimous decision victory over a sluggish Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the WBA decided that Jake Paul is now the number 14 ranked cruiserweight in the entire world.
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To people out there scratching their heads and thinking "how could this happen?" well I kind of have an answer for you. The WBA is doing Jake a tit-for-tat favor.
You see, the current champion of the WBA is Gilberto Ramirez, who defended his belt against Yuniel Dorticos on a very recent date. I'm sure it is just a coincidence that this bout took place just a few days ago on the very same Pay-per-view that the Jake Paul fight was headlining. hmmmmm... funny how that happens, huh?
However, before we get all excited and start shouting WBA sucks! let's have a look at how this could really change things in the Jake Paul boxing world. Jake no longer has an excuse to not face actual professional boxers. In his own words he was calling out some big names after his victory over Chavez Jr and most of them were non-active fighters. But now, he is officially eligible to compete for an actual boxing belt, which Jake claims, is something he is destined for.
If you watched the Jake Paul hugging contest boxing match you might notice a very distinct difference in the amount of violence and pursuit that is taking place in the above highlights from a real championship boxing match.
The crowd was booing for most of Jake's fight for a reason and it isn't just because almost everyone that isn't related to him dislikes Jake Paul. It's because whether it is a rumor or not, virtually every opponent that Jake has had appears to not be trying to hurt him. Whether this is because they are incapable of doing so or are contractually obligated not to is anyone's guess but the fights certainly don't seem very professional or top-tier.
For Jake to be placed in the top 20 in the world when he has fought exactly ONE active boxer in his career (and lost), is a damn joke and the WBA is not doing themselves any favors by ranking him.
Yes, I know some will argue that Chavez Jr. was active but let's be real here, Jr. hasn't truly been active since 2020 as his fights after that were exhibition money-makers. If you are boxing against Anderson Silva and then lose against Anderson Silva in boxing.. you are not an active boxer.
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There's a silver lining on this cloud though: This might force Jake to actually take on a real fight instead of hand-picking his opponents.
In the meantime I am disappointed in myself for even bothering to watch the recent Jake Paul event. I only do it in the hopes of seeing him get uppercut into a back-flip, but that just isn't happening and I shouldn't have thought that it would be different this time.
If you are more of a boxing fan than I am and think I am wrong I would love to hear a calm explanation as to how the hell Paul deserves to be ranked in the top 20. Honestly, I want to know.