Following Jake Paul’s recent unanimous decision win against Mike Tyson, attention quickly shifted to who Paul would fight next. Ryan Garcia expressed his interest in that matchup and reiterated his challenge on Tuesday.

“It would be a significant event,” Garcia stated during an interview on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I hear it everywhere I go; people are eager to see me take on Jake Paul. I need to deliver what the fans want, that’s what I’m all about.”

Garcia is currently serving a year-long ban after testing positive for a prohibited substance ahead of his April bout against Devin Haney. His boxing license in New York will remain suspended until April 20, 2025, yet he is still keen on stepping back into the ring.

Although Garcia was previously slated to compete against Rukiya Anpo in an exhibition match in Tokyo on December 30, Golden Boy Promotions has challenged that announcement. The promotion stated, “Golden Boy Promotions holds exclusive rights to Ryan Garcia’s matches. The event organizers (Garcia vs. Anpo) have agreed in writing that our approval is necessary for this event to proceed. As of now, no such approval has been granted, so there is no event involving Ryan Garcia.”

Garcia expressed his motivation to fight Anpo stems from Anpo “bullying” Manny Pacquiao in their previous match. (Anpo, then 28, faced Pacquiao, who was 45, in a July exhibition.)

“I saw this guy, who is much larger and younger than Manny Pacquiao, just trying to dominate him,” Garcia recalled. “He was throwing wild punches the whole fight and acting obnoxiously in the ring. I thought, ‘Oh my God, if I get a shot, I’ll take him out.’

Garcia believes the same reasoning applies to Jake Paul, who is 27 and fought Tyson at 58.

“He was targeting Uncle Mike (Tyson),” Garcia noted. “It’s the same sentiment I have for Manny Pacquiao, and I feel that way about this situation too.”

Garcia emphasized that if a match were to happen, he aims to knock Paul out.

“If Jake displays the same fighting style he used against Mike, I honestly believe I could knock him out in four or five rounds,” Garcia remarked. “We had previously talked about facing each other. He visited my gym in Victorville a while back and came to meet me during the Canelo (Alvarez) training camp — this was even before he started boxing. In a way, I helped launch his boxing career, and now I’m here to end it. That’s the bottom line.”

Garcia has primarily competed in the lightweight (135 pounds) and super lightweight (140 pounds) categories, while Paul weighed in at 227 pounds for his match against Tyson. Garcia stated he would be open to fighting at a disadvantage in terms of weight if they agree on a bout. He pointed to the June 2021 exhibition fight between Logan Paul (189.5 pounds) and Floyd Mayweather (155 pounds) as a precedent.