Jake Paul has a message for the “boxing is dying” crowd: you wish.

For nearly a decade, a small but vocal portion of the MMA fan base has gravitated to the idea the boxing is on its last legs as a relevant sport, saying that MMA is coming to usurp it. It’s not just fans who have said it though. On numerous occasions, UFC CEO Dana White has spoken out about boxing being broken and in need of saving, and his intention to do just that. But Jake Paul disagrees.

Over the past few years, Paul has been the vanguard of the influencer boxing scene, most recently squaring off with Mike Tyson on Netflix in one of the biggest events of 2024, and on Tuesday he refuted White’s belief that boxing is dying.

“MMA is not what it was. That’s the truth of the matter,” Paul told All The Smoke Fight. “Boxing is bigger than ever. The biggest sporting event of the year, of 2024, was boxing, whereas MMA is becoming a shittier version of boxing, essentially. It’s kickboxing. Because everyone is getting good takedown defense and everyone is a black belt in jiu-jitsu. So there’s no more submissions really, there’s not a lot of takedowns and even if there is it’s f*cking boring, but everyone is good at takedown defense. So it’s literally kickboxing.

“Guess who the biggest star of the sport is in MMA? Alex Pereira, who is a kickboxer. Because he’s knocking everyone out, blah, blah, blah. And he’s the best one because no one can take him down, no one can submit him so he’s just knocking everyone out.

“The UFC has less significant strikes per rounds, and that’s with five-minute rounds. So boxing is going to stand the test of time because it has. It’s been [around] since the 1500s. 500, 600 years of boxing. I don’t think MMA — I’m not long on MMA, because it’s becoming boxing.”

Boxing actually traces its origins back much further than the 1500s, with some sources suggesting it may go as far back as the sixth millennium BC. Modern boxing is traditionally traced back to the implementation of the Queensberry Rules in 1867.

For White, there may be some part of him that agrees with Paul about boxing standing the test of time. The UFC CEO has repeatedly attempted to get involved with “the sweet science” and has plans to once again dive into it this year. But Paul isn’t all that concerned about White entering the fray, having a very simple answer when asked if White can succeed by moving into boxing.

“He’s already failed.”