It’s been seven years since Andre Ward stepped into the squared circle. The last time fans saw him dance, he knocked out Sergey Kovalev in their rematch in 2017. However, the former world champion has taken over the boxing community in recent times after hinting at a potential return to the ring. And get this! Claressa Shields has the perfect opponent in mind—Jake Paul!

On July 22nd, ‘S.O.G’ took to his X account to share a clip announcing, “I WANT ALL THE SMOKE”. While it was most likely about a new business venture, fans didn’t see it that way. Some speculated a fight against Canelo Alvarez and others, but ‘T-Rex’ Shields’ suggestion for Paul as an opponent seems to have forced Ward to respond.

Andre Ward alleges Jake Paul is scared of him

The two weight divisions undisputed champion Claressa Shields took to X today to express her desire to see Ward lock horns with Paul in a boxing match. Shields wrote, “Andre Ward @andreward vs @jakepaul !!!! Let’s make it happen! Get him SOG!!!!” It’s worth mentioning that Paul is coming off a spectacular win over BKFC champion Mike Perry.

The duo went toe-to-toe last weekend at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, a fight that saw Jake Paul emerge victorious via a sixth round technical knockout. Regardless, Ward responded to Shields, suggesting Paul is scared of him. Ward wrote, “He would never say my name”. Interestingly, Paul has a fight coming up against Mike Tyson on November 15th.

Also, during the post-fight in-ring interview, Paul boldly announced that he wanted to fight Alex Pereira next. However, Pereira, who fights under UFC promotion, is unlikely to be allowed by Dana White to take the fight. So, perhaps, a fight against Andre Ward has a slight chance of happening. But! What does Alex Pereira have to say about it?

Alex Pereira’s face time with Jake Paul

After Paul boldly called out Pereira during his post-fight in-ring interview, the UFC champion seems to have face-timed Paul then and there. A brief glimpse of this was even caught on the broadcast, but the entire thing didn’t come out until a clip of Pereira’s perspective was shared on social media. In a clip shared by Happy Punch on X, the Brazilian superstar can be seen calling Paul, who immediately said, “Let’s run it!”. 

So, Pereira, not one to back down from a challenge, responded stating, “Let’s go, let’s go my brother”. But Paul quickly turned to the main concern with making the fight happen—he asked whether Dana White would let this fight happen. Pereira answered, “Yes”, to which Paul responded, claiming, “Tell Dana, the bigger they are, the harder they fall – [you are] light work”.

Having said that, Jake Paul seems to have a sea of options to potentially fight after his skirmish with Mike Tyson later this month. But will he choose Andre Ward? His resume of opponents doesn’t bode well in that regard. Who do you think Paul should fight next?