Jake Paul 'Very Confident' He'd Beat Canelo Alvarez

Canelo Alvarez is widely considered the greatest pound-for-pound boxer on the planet ... and Jake Paul thinks he can beat him in a boxing match -- saying he's "very confident" he'd come out on top!!

Remember, the YouTuber-turned-fighter previously told TMZ Sports he was eyeing a future bout with the Mexican superstar ... in an attempt to becoming "the most disruptive boxer in the history of the sport."

But, Paul doesn't just think he'll enter the ring with the guy -- Jake's now saying he thinks he can WIN.

"I'm very confident," Jake told Maxim. "He's a killer at 168 pounds, but people forget that I naturally walk around at about 205, so there's a big weight difference. There's a big height advantage."

Paul -- who's set to fight Tyron Woodley in Cleveland next month -- adds he's not impressed with Alvarez's recent opponents ... saying, "They've all been easy guys who just sort of fall on their ass."

There's a bit of history between the guys -- Canelo told us back in December 2020 the Paul bros were disrespectful to the sport, so there's already a good storyline to go with it.

JP says he understands the opportunity won't come without hard work -- he says he'll keep fighting tougher opponents and working on his craft every day -- but is confident Alvarez will eventually take the bait.

"At the end of the day, this is a business," he said. "If Canelo sees that, he's going to want to get in on the business."