Jake Paul might be the most conflicting professional boxer right now. On one hand, fans and experts criticize ‘The Problem Child’ for picking up fights against non-boxers and retired fighters. Recently Claressa Shields went as far as to challenge him to a mix-gender boxing match and claimed that the 27-year-old stood no chance against her because of her skills.

On the other hand, experts and fans have been loving the attraction he has brought back to this sport. His November 15 fight against Mike Tyson attracted 108 million viewers online. In a conversation with ‘3 Knockdown Rule,’ former unified light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver also shared his opinion regarding Jake Paul, and he had nothing but positive things to say.

Antonio Tarver loves the MVP prospect series

‘Magic Man’ first appreciated Jake Paul for the attention he is bringing to boxing. “What Jake Paul is doing today is phenomenal man. The attention that he is gaining, the support he is gaining,” is just brilliant. Tarver further talked about how Paul and Nakisa Bidarian are “doing a great job for fighters,” like Amanda Serrano as she became the highest-paid female boxer for her rematch against Katie Taylor.

MVP’s prospect series also impressed the Orlando native as it is helping open doors for young fighters. “I like what he does on Friday night. He’ll do the, you know, not the superstars or the top guys but these Contender prospects. He’ll have a show to get those guys busy and I think you know that’s what’s really missing in the game today.” Tarver thinks that providing these young prospects a platform to showcase their talent and grow is something not many promotions do.

While the former light heavyweight champion and HBO Boxing host acknowledged Jake Paul’s comparatively inferior skills, he also mentioned how the former social media star is far more active than many professional boxers. The ‘El Gallo’ fought three times in 2024 and that will help him to stay sharp and grow. Both Mario Lopez and Steve Kim agreed with the statement as they think the same.

The 31-6-1 boxer then criticized all the backlash that Jake Paul has been garnering, calling it blind hate. Not only that, he claimed that the 27-year-old is one of the two people currently who can make boxing global again.

Jake Paul, the face of boxing?

“If you can’t see the positivity in everything he’s doing, you’re blind,” declared Tarver. The 56-year-old veteran further added, “He’s putting that light on boxing. Only other person that could have done that was Your Excellency Turki Alalshikh,” while crediting the Saudi Royal for helping revive the once popular sport.

“These are the two guys when you look at it, the 2024, that truly gave boxing a shot in the arm, a desperately needed shot in the arm,” Tarver declared. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has been putting on some of the biggest boxing cards the world has ever seen in the last year.

On the other hand, Jake Paul, alongside MVP and Netflix, also produced one of the biggest boxing events the world had ever seen. These two are undoubtedly attracting the attention of boxing fans. Not only that, they are making boxing accessible to everyone. HE Alalshikh has done it by slashing the costly pay-per-view prices, and Paul and MVP have done it by bringing Netflix into the sport of boxing.

Jake Paul boxing’s capabilities will always remain in question until he fights against a legitimate boxer. However, as Tarver said, you can’t deny the popularity and attention he is bringing to the sport. Furthermore, alongside MVP, he is providing a platform to young boxers and is helping them improve.

Do you agree with Antonio Tarver? Do you think Jake Paul is changing the landscape of boxing alongside His Excellency Turki Alalshikh? Let us know your thoughts down below.