A bout for the vacant IBF world title with Italy’s Etinosa Oliha could be an option, with the pair the IBF’s two highest-ranked fighters after Pauls’ win over third-ranked Thompson.
Pauls says the victory, his first fight on a major show since losing his British title to Denzel Bentley in a European title fight in December 2024, is one of the most memorable of his career.
“I knew it was really, really, really close on the scorecards,” he said.
“My corner had told me ‘forget about boxing, do what you do best, now it’s time to have a fight and empty the tank on him’.
“The time was running out and I knew I had to put a dent in him and put him down, so I just gave him my absolute all and it paid off.”
And the contrast between his victory on Saturday – at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester in front of a packed crowd on live television – could not be more different from his previous bout.
Pauls fought Panamanian journeyman Omir Rodriguez on a small show at Torquay’s Riviera Centre last May as he came back from the Bentley defeat.
He admits he wondered whether he would fight at title level again before getting his shot at Thompson:
“Those thoughts do cross your mind,” he said.
“When you’re left on the sideline with no fights for so long and not getting offered any big fights, and none of the TV fights were presenting themselves, you do lose hope a little bit, you feel a little bit used and abused and sort of thrown to the side.
“But I knew if I kept in the gym and I kept working hard, I think that I have a lot of value and they’d want me for another opportunity, and when it came I had to really take it with both hands because they don’t come often.
“You really have to seize the moment and with these big fights it’s take the risk or lose the chance, and I just had to take the risk in a hard fight and rip up the script and that’s what I did.”