Despite the fact that he hasn’t faced any legitimate competition, Jake Paul almost landed a fight against unified super-middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez, but unfortunately the deal fell through, and now 168-pound contender Steven Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs) has presented Paul with an interesting offer.
On Saturday, February 8th, it was announced that as part of Canelo Alvarez’s four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh, Canelo will face IBF super-middleweight champion William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) on May 3, 2025. Canelo was stripped back in July 2024, and three months later, William Scull picked up the vacant IBF strap when he defeated Vladimir Shishkin.
Canelo Alvarez was stripped back then because he declined to face William Scull. Now, with a victory over Scull, Canelo will reclaim his undisputed status. If Canelo is successful in May, a September bout against Terence Crawford will be more intriguing due to the fact that Crawford will have the chance to become a three-division undisputed world champion.
Crawford’s stablemate, Steven Nelson, would like to fill the co-main slot with a bout against Jake Paul. Since starting his boxing journey, Jake Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) has consistently talked about facing Canelo, but it’s hard for fight fans to accept Paul receiving that type of opportunity because of the level of competition he’s faced.
The best win on Jake Paul’s resume is a victory over 58-year-old Mike Tyson. The remainder of Paul’s victories have come against YouTubers, over-the-hill MMA fighters, and unknown club-level boxers. If Paul steps up and accepts this recent challenge, he’ll have the opportunity to defeat a credible opponent.
If Canelo can get by Crawford, then a Paul victory over a credible opponent on the potential Canelo vs Crawford card could persuade Canelo into giving Jake Paul his dream shot. However, before Paul can count on taking this route to face Canelo, he has to pull off a victory against some stiff competition.
A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Steven Nelson met Terence “Bud” Crawford on a local playground when Crawford was 11 years old. The two would forge a friendship as later in life Crawford started his pro boxing journey, and Nelson would go on to serve as a satellite communications operator in the Army.
While serving in the military, Nelson became a member of the Army’s boxing team. After serving his time in the Army, Nelson turned to boxing, and at the age of 27, Steven Nelson made his pro boxing debut in March 2016, as he stopped Billy Colon in the first round.
Nelson would go on to reel off 19 consecutive victories. On the night of January 25, 2025, Steven Nelson faced the biggest challenge of his career as he was set to take on the number one ranked WBO contender, Diego Pacheco.
Nelson got off to a good start as he was pressing forward and dictating the pace of the fight. In the fourth round Pacheco was able to take over the fight with his timing and his ability to box off the back foot. As he tried to rally back in the 12th round, Nelson hurt Pacheco when he landed a hard left-hand shot.
Nelson proceeded to aggressively press forward and go for the knockout, but unfortunately for Nelson, Diego Pacheco was able to survive the round. At the conclusion of the 12-round contest, all three judges scored the bout (117-111) in favor of Diego Pacheco.
Now Steven “So Cold” Nelson is ready to move on and bounce back in a big way. Nelson took to social media and posted a promo poster of himself and Jake Paul as he went on to issue the open challenge.
“Aye @jakepaul, since Canelo is fighting my brother @terencecrawford instead of you, me and you can fight at whatever weight you want. TIME TO FIGHT A REAL… ACTIVE… BOXER, JAKE!!!”
Fighting Crawford’s teammate on the Canelo vs Crawford undercard makes perfect sense if Paul wants to prove he’s worthy of a bout against Canelo. In this scenario, Steven Nelson would face a high-profile celebrity type of opponent, and Jake Paul would get to finally face a well schooled active boxer.
A Steven Nelson vs. Jake Paul clash could be beneficial for both men, but is a match against a talented boxer such as the 36-year-old Steven Nelson a risk that Jake Paul is willing to take?
Last Updated on 02/09/2025