Former three division world champion Shane Mosley believes that he can transform Jake Paul into a solid pro boxer.
Paul, who was previously trained by retired boxer BJ Flores, has now hired Mosley as head trainer.
The Youtuber turned boxer will return to the ring on August 5th, when he takes on MMA icon Nate Diaz in an eight round cruiserweight clash. The contest will be carried by DAZN Pay-Per-View.
Paul will be looking to bounce back after suffering his first career defeat earlier this year.
He was outboxed over eight rounds by undefeated light heavyweight contender Tommy Fury, who is the younger brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Paul scored a knockdown in the final round, but he was too far behind on points to change the outcome.
Mosley feels strongly that Paul will win the rematch if it happens next.
“I’m now a co-trainer of Jake Paul. I was there for one of his early fights with AnesonGib, I helped start him off. Then I left him with BJ Flores and now something has happened between Jake and BJ – I think Jake said something like BJ has taken him as far as he could and has let him go. Anyway, I saw the Tommy Fury fight and I texted him and said we need to work on some stuff. Sometimes you miss certain stages in your boxing career,” Mosley told Sporting Post.
“He learned very quickly and went straight into sparring with experienced guys. But I think he missed the middle part of his development. So that’s what we’re working on. I’m coming to help. I’m not the head trainer but the legendary trainer, who knows different things because I’ve been in there and seen it and done it.
“Tommy was throwing a lot of unusual punches and Jake wasn’t ready for that amateur type of style Tommy had. Yes, Tommy dictated the range, but it was more so Jake did not know how to get to him, like cutting off the ring. There are different types of movement he could have done to draw him and to counter that he has not used yet, so we’ll teach him different things. So when he fights this type of fight again, that mistake won’t happen again, where he gets stuck and does not know what to do. I want him to know everything so he knows what to do.
“He will avenge that defeat to Fury. He’s only lacking in experience right now, that’s all. He would win if he rematched him next. He’s in good hands. With me and the whole team. I believe he’s going to improve very fast.”
Mosley explains that Paul started boxing very late, like former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, and because of that he’s learning on the job and needs a proper amount of time to learn how to box like a professional.
“We’re trying to transform him into someone that can challenge for a world title or win a title at cruiserweight one day. But he needs to learn the proper stuff, because he started late, like Deontay Wilder,” Mosley said.
“He is athletic but we need to mould him into a top fighter. He needs to beat Tommy first, but that’s the way we want to go. I want him to really understand what’s happening in the ring.”