Shannon Briggs has known Jake Paul longer than most in boxing.
The former world heavyweight champion has witnessed first hand the rise of the Youtuber-turned-boxer, which has led to next week’s showdown against boxing legend Mike Tyson.
Paul faces Tyson at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday 15 November, in a fight that has divided opinion, due to ‘Iron Mike’ now being 58-years-old and not having competed professionally since way back in 2005.
That is a stark contrast to 27-year-old Paul, who has had 11 professional fights since making his debut back in 2020, with Briggs part of the training team that ‘The Problem Child’ worked with during the early portion of his career.
With that in mind, Briggs knows first-hand just how much ability Paul has, and ‘The Cannon’ needed just one word when speaking to The Fumble to answer if Paul’s ability would allow him to soon challenge for a world title.
“No.”
Briggs then explained how he came to that assessment.
“I believe that had he continued on my plan, I’m not trying to sound egotistic, but I had a plan which they took part of it, to fight MMA guys, that’s what I told them.
“Fight MMA guys, they have a bigger fan base and they’re not really good at boxing, that’s the best way to build you, then he fought Tommy Fury and he got beat up and that messed it up.
“Could he have become a contender? Yes. I’m not going to say it’s too late, but what makes a champion is pain, they ain’t dealing with no pain. Can you become a legit contender without that? It’s highly unlikely.”
Paul’s loss to Tommy Fury came back in February 2023, and Fury has also summed up his rival’s ability ahead of the fight with Tyson.
