Carl Froch has jokingly asked if Jake Paul is "still trying to be a fighter" after the YouTube star announced his ring return against Nate Diaz.
The social media sensation started boxing in 2018 and turned professional in 2020, where his record is now 6-1. He lost for the first time in February when Tommy Fury took a split decision victory in their Saudi Arabian bout, much to the delight of Froch, whom Paul had mocked in the build-up.
At one point during his legendary career, Froch was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and packed Wembley Stadium for his bout with George Groves. But Paul insisted that he had no profile in America and that he would need to first beat Anderson Silva before they could fight.
However, after the American lost to Fury, his first real test against a legitimate boxer, Froch has dismissed him as a challenge and remained in retirement. After reading that Paul had announced his ring return, the former world champion took to Twitter, asking "Is Jake Paul still trying to be a fighter?" He accompanied the message with two laughing emojis.
Paul and Froch's back-and-forth started a while ago, with the YouTube star branding his rival "desperate" in his attempts to make a comeback fight happen. "You seem pretty desperate, you seem like you want money and that's why you're talking all this s*** out of nowhere at your age," Paul said of Froch to BT Sport Boxing.
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"He needs to grow his name in the US because not many people know him. For me to make big fights, they have to be a draw in the US because that's where my fanbase is big, so that's why I said fight Anderson Silva and we'll see what's up."
Paul thinks a meeting between Froch and Silva would be a "big fight", but the Brit has played it down by insisting he has "too much respect" for the UFC legend. Interestingly, Froch's popularity in America was a talking point towards the end of his career, with promoter Eddie Hearn unable to deliver a retirement fight in Las Vegas as he had dreamed of after knocking out Groves.
Ultimately, the former world champion was happy to have retired atop the sport with an iconic stoppage in front of a monster 80,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium. He has since become a respected pundit and even teams up with Groves as an analyst from time to time.
