Jake Paul is taking a big risk when he takes on Mike Perry this weekend, despite being booked for the biggest fight of his life this November.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer was due to face Mike Tyson this week, but after the legendary heavyweight was forced out with a medical issue, the fight was rescheduled for November 15. However, Paul still wanted to fight on his scheduled date, and hastily arranged a showdown with Perry.
Since leaving the UFC in 2021, the former welterweight contender has moved into bare knuckle boxing, where he is undefeated in five outings. He has stopped the likes of Luke Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez, but has yet to return to the ring with gloves on.
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Jake Paul admits Mike Tyson fight could be at risk in Mike Perry bout
With his eleventh professional bout coming up, Jake Paul is refusing to take the easy road in terms of opponents. While some criticise his match-making, he is opting now to face either boxers with winning records, or high-level fighters from other disciplines.
Even for his comeback tune-up fight, he takes on Mike Perry, who aside from his professional boxing debut has never lost outside of the UFC octagon. “People didn’t really expect me to be where I’m at today,” he noted in a recent DAZN feature.
“They didn’t see behind the scenes how much I truly, truly need and want and love this sport. The sky is the limit when you don’t put any barriers or boundaries on what you can accomplish. I want to test myself and get under the bright lights.”
And noting how much money is on the line with his Netflix deal to face Tyson in what will be the platform’s first ever boxing fight, he believes he is rolling the dice in a massive way.
“This whole entire thing is a giant risk,” he added. “I’m focused on July 20, I’m focused on Mike Perry and just being in that mindset is what will lead me to victory.”
Most Valuable Promotions boss Nakisa Bidarian gives Mike Tyson health update ahead of Jake Paul fight
After suffering an ulcer flare up on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles, Tyson was pulled out of the fight with Paul for medical reasons. The bout was then rescheduled for November 15, with the former heavyweight champion now beginning to re-enter training.
Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour: “He’s doing great and Jake is p***ed because he sees in Europe, living life, doing appearances, celebrating his birthday.
“And he’s like, ‘I thought he was injured, what’s going on?’ I talked to team Tyson yesterday and they said he’s back, not doing boxing training but doing strength and conditioning and he feels great.”
Mike Perry vows to make Jake Paul quit in grudge fight
Perry’s strategy for Saturday night in his adopted home state is to get to work early, but move through the rounds and eventually stop Paul late. The pair will compete over eight rounds, and he feels that the finish will come in the seventh or eighth after a slower start to proceedings.
“Maybe I make him miss and make him pay,” he told ESPN. “If I knock him down or get him to go to a knee anywhere between- he said under three rounds, I said seven rounds because I need my pressure to build up.
“He’s supposedly a little bigger, got a little more weight so it’s going to have to build up on him. I’m the smaller guy so I got to hit him with the hard, fast shots and it has to build over time. I want to enjoy my time in the ring and get my rounds in, somewhere in there I’ve got to be able to stop him.
“I feel like a Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis sometimes, I don’t always throw a lot of punches but the ones I do throw, some of them bad boys are going to land significantly and do the damage to break this kid down.”
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