Former interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia stated that he could have been the opponent for popular blogger Jake Paul, but he already had a fight scheduled against WBC welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios.
I didn’t take the Jake Paul fight because I had the Barrios fight lined up, so I showed you. I had $20 million offered. I went with Barrios for less, so that’s to show you right now, and that’s a stupid matchup [for me]. He’s 220 pounds, for damn’s sake. People are not going to think I’m good unless I knock him out. How am I going to knock out a 220-pound dude that somewhat knows how to box?
"Yeah, I could catch them, but they’re trying to fight with 12-ounce gloves. I’m trying to fight with 8-ounce. Let me have 8-ounce. You could have 12-ounce. That’s fair. You got the weight, I get the four ounces in gloves," Garcia said in an interview with talkSPORT Boxing.
Recall that on the night of December 20 in Miami, USA, Jake Paul is scheduled to fight former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua.
Joshua last stepped into the ring in September 2024, losing to Daniel Dubois by knockout in the fifth round. He holds a record of 28 wins (25 by knockout) and four losses.
Paul last fought Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June 2025 in Anaheim. In that bout, Jake won by unanimous decision. He holds a record of 12 wins (seven by knockout) and one loss.
