Despite some promising early performances in his boxing career, Jake Paul has yet to win over the majority of fans. This includes particularly those who participate in the combat sports community. Dana White is definitely not a fan, and Paul has drawn criticism from a number of boxers and professional mixed martial artists (MMA).
Anthony Smith is a former title contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship. He recently criticized Paul and called for a boycott of all of his upcoming bouts until he makes the decision to take on an active opponent.
Paul’s faced Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva. All a while after they retired and far from their prime.
Anderson Silva’s defeat is a particularly bitter pill to swallow considering he holds the longest win streak in the promotion with 16 wins and is widely considered a GOAT.
Smith spoke out on his podcast,
“If Jake Paul beats Anderson Silva, we should all f**king boycott the rest of his fights until he f**king fights some that are on his level, or whatever level we deem him to be on.”
“You talk all this s**t about MMA fighters, you talk s**t about UFC and then you pretend that you want to bring fighters up, and you want everyone to get paid better, but then you trash everyone every time they fight.”
But Smith wasn’t always of this opinion. Just last year he expressed interest in watching Paul face off against Anderson Silva.
“That’s the fight that I that I think needs to happen. Just. I just want Jake Paul to fight someone good. If he fights Anderson Silva, I’ll shut up, you know, and I’ll stop being so critical. He fights Simone and even looks. Well, you know, it looks okay doing it. I’ll shut up and give him his props.”
“I’ve never I’ve never hated on Jake Paul fighting. I think that everyone deserves the opportunity to fight. I advocated for CM Punk. I think they should all do it at a high level because, I mean, what are we going to fight like? CM Punk and Jake Paul and like, I love the LFA, love it, but like, is that where we going to put CM punks?”
“Like, they can’t even handle that type of celebrity, right? So I think Jake Paul should be allowed to fight. I think that he’s taking it very seriously. I think that he trains hard. I think that he respects the art and the game. I just don’t think he’s very good.”