UFC legend Chael Sonnen has hailed Jake Paul as the most "feared man in boxing" after announcing his August 13 return.
Paul has not competed in the ring since scoring a brutal knockout victory over Tyron Woodley in his fifth professional fight last year. The YouTube star has since announced his return for August 13 but is yet to name an opponent or weight division with the likes of Tommy Fury and Anderson Silva in the running.
Sonnen has claimed Paul has had no-one even call him out on the back of the announcement as he continues to search for an opponent. "I don't see any other boxer ahead because Jake made an announcement, he announced when he was returning to boxing," Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.
"A main event, it is now proving we have a star because who else can sit down on Showtime with Ariel Helwani and Eddie Hearn? You know what he didn't include in that announcement? Who? What weight class? We know why he didn't include that because he doesn't have an opponent.
"And that is because it proves my premise that he is the most feared man in boxing. No-one has even called him out and no-one wants to even be that partner. If he had have pulled that in MMA people would have jumped all over it.
"All of a sudden all of these tough guys boxing including Eddie Hearn's 400 guys that he gave a verbal agreement to fight with Jake are all busy. It is a very interesting thing and if we are just going to hate on Jake we have to be more reasonable. Jake is doing his side of it."
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Paul had been focusing on representing Amanda Serrano ahead of her recent defeat by Katie Taylor in a historic female title clash at Madison Square Garden. Now he will switch his intentions to his sixth boxing exploit after making a return to training in his gym in Puerto Rico.
British star Fury has been most vocal about staging a meeting with Paul after being forced to withdraw from their previously scheduled date last December with a broken rib. However the YouTube star has admitted he could instead look to a fight with legendary heavyweight Mike Tyson or a fight with UFC legend Silva.
"There could be interest there," Paul admitted. I want to see the Anderson Silva fight and how he does, how he looks. There are other talks with Mike Tyson and other names under the table so really we're just looking for the best opportunity. For me, Tommy is an easy fight, so maybe I'll just run it up, get a quick knockout and then move on from there, But maybe not."
