DEONTAY WILDER has welcomed a fight with Jake Paul – in a bid to dish out a “reality check”.
Wilder has become the latest champion of the past linked with a bout against YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul.
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And while it so far remains just another possibility on the table – Wilder is ready to come to the table for that lucrative conversation.
He told Brian Mazique: “Nothing has been presented to us, at the moment it’s not real, but if it came my way of course I’m 100 per cent taking it.
“He’s been doing his thing in the business although it’s not the traditional way, it’s not the logic way of how a fighter comes up or how he gains stardom and fame and fortune.
“Unfortunately, it’s a more brutal road than that. Some of these guys never, ever in their lifetime see $50,000, let alone $100,000 or $1million or $2million.
“It just doesn’t go like that. That module of how it is, it’s not like that. But it’s the wave of what young people are looking to or what they like.
“Unfortunately, people try and go off the vote of popularity. What’s going on, what’s popular, what can make them money.
“Money makes the world go round and everybody is trying to make that dollar – no matter what skill you’ve got if you can generate a crowd that generates to asses in seats that generates money.
“So all of this is a cycle that’s used and here it is you’ve got a guy that’s been doing good in generating money and putting asses in seats although he’s selective in how he fights and who he fights, I would say.”
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Paul moved up to heavyweight in November when Mike Tyson controversially made a comeback aged 58.
And despite the scrutiny surrounding the showdown – over 100 MILLION tuned in on Netflix to watch Tyson lose over eight shorter rounds of two minutes.
Paul, 28, then returned in June to beat ex-middleweight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39, over ten rounds to earn himself a No14 cruiserweight rank in the WBA.
The American – whose only loss in 13 fights came to Tommy Fury in 2023 – soon after entered shock talks to fight Anthony Joshua.
And two-time heavyweight champ AJ looked to be nearing a deal to face Paul next year.
But talks have since stalled after Paul announced a November 14 exhibition against lightweight champ Gervonta Davis, 30, who is FIVE STONE lighter.
Paul’s camp claim they still intend to fight Joshua, 35, in 2026 with the Brit legend sidelined since his September 2024 loss to Daniel Dubois, 27.
But Wilder, 39, has now thrown his name into the mix to fight Paul in an attempt to teach the prankster-gone-prizefighter a lesson.
He added: “That’s exactly how I would approach it. It would be a big reality check.
“That would be the title of the show ‘Reality Check’. At least for me.”
Wilder suffered consecutive losses – to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang – before returning to victory against little-known Tyrrell Herndon in June.
And he is now in talks to fight ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou – who lost his two boxing bouts to Tyson Fury and AJ.
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