Jake Paul called out Oleksandr Usyk after the Ukrainian heavyweight defeated Daniel Dubois on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
“I respect you a lot,” Paul wrote in a post on X. “Now we do an MMA match for the world.”
Usyk became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world following his fifth-round knockout victory over Dubois.
Usyk improved to 24-0 with 15 knockouts following Saturday’s result, with his last six wins coming against Dubois, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
As for Paul, he owns a 12-1 record during his budding boxing career. His most recent fight was a victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision in June.
While a boxing match between Usyk and Paul would likely be one-sided, the undisputed world heavyweight champion has teased an MMA clash between the two.
Sergey Lapin, Usyk’s team director, previously discussed the possibility as well.
“Usyk has always cared only about fighting the best and creating a lasting legacy in the great sport of boxing,” Lapin said, via Curtis Calhoun of Bloody Elbow. “But in the future, as he further solidifies his place as one of the true great fighters, we’ll see what other opportunities open up for him.”
“It might be great to step into the cage with Jake Paul under MMA rules, it would be interesting if there is money to be made from it,” he added.
Paul has notched boxing victories over former MMA stars such as Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz, but hasn’t competed in MMA during his career in combat sports.