Correction/clarification: In an earlier version of this story, a quote attributed to Ryan Garcia had incorrect information due to a reporting error. Jake Paul beat Anderson Silva by unanimous decision on Oct. 29, 2022.
Ryan Garcia says Jake Paul eventually will have no choice but to fight him.
“I mean, he’s going to run out of opponents,’’ Garcia told USA TODAY Sports. “There’s only so many 40-year-old dudes out there in the world that have a name.
“So he’s going to have to come through me sooner or later. I know he doesn’t want to though because I’m going to be firing on him. He knows I got those punches on me. So I think that once he’s done fighting these old men and he is ready for a real fight, he could come see me.’’
Garcia, 26, is scheduled to fight Rolando “Rolly” Romero on Friday after a one-year suspension for a failed drug test.
On June 28, Paul, 28, is scheduled to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 39.
So, not quite 40.
“Close enough,’’ Garcia said.
Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) is coming off a victory by unanimous decision over 58-year-old Mike Tyson, who is the only one of Paul’s opponents who was 40 or older at the time of the fight. But of Paul’s 10 other opponents, eight were 35 or older.
Paul had two fights against Tyron Woodley, who was 39 at the time of each bout.
Garcia, who is 5-foot-9 and fights at 147 pounds, would face a significant size disadvantage against the 6-1 Paul, who weighed 228 pounds for his fight with Tyson. But Paul earlier this year teased a possible bout against Tank Davis, who fights at 147 pounds.
“If he could fight Tank Davis, he could fight me,’’ Garcia said. “Davis is smaller than me. I’m the one that taught (Paul) boxing, so he has to see me.”
Asked if Paul should be considered a legitimate boxer, Garcia replied, “He’s a wild card. I mean, I don’t know if he’s a boxer. At the end of the day, he’s never fought in a ranked match at his weight class. I don’t even know what his weight class is. I don’t know if it’s heavyweight. I don’t know. It’s cruiserweight. I don’t know what his weight class is, so can’t really say that he’s legitimate.
“But he’s had a lot of big fights because of who he is.’’
Commenting on Paul’s upcoming fight against Chavez, Garcia pointed out that Chavez lost a split decision to former UFC champion Anderson Silva in 2021.
At the time, Silva was 1-1 as a pro boxer. Since then Chavez has had just two fights and won both by unanimous decision.
Garcia said Chavez “hasn’t been good for a long, long, long time. He’s already lost to Anderson Silva. …So it’s like, I can’t really consider this something. But it’s going to be a big fight regardless. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is a good name and Jake Paul got all the eyes on him. So they’re going to make a lot of money. I think that’s key to (Paul’s) career.”
Watch Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryan Garcia explains why Jake Paul will have to fight him
