As he stood at a crossroads, Ryan Garcia decided a world title outweighed Jake Paul’s $25 million fight offer. The MVP pitch surfaced around the time when a spate of setbacks, including the shocking loss to Rolando Romero and a hand surgery, bogged him down. Paul’s multi-million dollar offer exceeded the $20M he received for the Romero fight.

Yet, despite the riches it offered, Ryan Garcia settled for a shot at the world title that had eluded him for long. Looking back at the events that followed the collapse of Jake Paul‘s exhibition with Gervonta Davis, Garcia revealed a few details as influencers Sara Saffari and Bradley Martyn joined the latest episode of his Kick stream.

Jake Paul made an offer – Ryan Garcia said no

As he spoke about the upcoming fight with Barrios, Bradley pressed him on the matchup against Jake Paul. “Yeah, f**k it happened,” responded Garcia. He explained that Paul made a $20 million-$25 million offer. But he decided to pass it up. “I said no because in my heart I wanted to fight for the world title…it would’ve sidetracked me,” he said.

According to Garcia, the Jake Paul fight would have been “easy money.” But deep down, Barrios’ welterweight title mattered more. Garcia’s popularity likely sparked Paul’s interest in a fight. Despite the controversies and setbacks, Garcia still remains one of boxing’s biggest draws, the kind of profile MVP attracts. Regardless of the sheer weight difference, a fight would be great for the optics, especially because of the back-and-forth history.

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Paul had even called out Ryan Garcia on his podcast once. Mocking him for the knockout loss to Gervonta Davis, Paul stated, “Tank hits hard. We all know that. But he weighs 135 lbs. So what happens when you have a 200 lb man who hits hard coming at you?”

While the revelations about the payout may have appeared now, the part that Paul did consider a fight against Garcia after Gervonta Davis’s legal tussles derailed the November 15 exhibition is no secret.

Jake Paul vs. Ryan Garcia: the fight that almost was

The exhibition with Davis had to be called off after the lightweight champion found himself embroiled in a domestic abuse charge. This forced Jake Paul to settle for a fight with Anthony Joshua, only to lose by knockout. But before he finalized the bout, he went through a list of names.

Among the prospects, Francis Ngannou and Ryan Garcia were the frontrunners. While the former UFC heavyweight champion refused to accept the offer, broadcasting problems marred Garcia’s chances.

Speaking about the Garcia-Paul matchup, Oscar De La Hoya rejected the idea outright. His reasons were simple. Jake Paul fought under Netflix, whereas Golden Boy Promotions has tied up with DAZN. So a potential fight could trigger platform conflict.

“Ryan Garcia fights for DAZN, and Jake Paul fights on Netflix… that’s pretty much the bottom line,” he told Fight Hub TV. “Golden Boy has a contract with DAZN. Ryan Garcia has a contract with Golden Boy. And that’s just the way it is. I mean, this is business…. No, you have to—you have to go by the law, by the rules.”

Ryan Garcia has to step up and deliver on what he said. A win over Barrios would not only make him a first-time world titleholder but also move him closer to much bigger fights in the future. They could include a highly charged rematch with Devin Haney, or a grudge match against Jake Paul for a purse much higher than $25M.