Jake PaulRoy Rochlin/Getty Images for Fanatics
Jake Paul’s boxing career continues to take interesting turns. The influencer started out fighting other influencers but quickly turned to professional athletes, including MMA stars before taking on a few bouts against club-level boxers.
The closest thing to a legitimate boxer that Paul has seen in the ring thus far was a bout against Tommy Fury. He lost a split-decision to the younger brother of Tyson Fury in February 2023.
Paul has tried to work his way back toward relevancy since. He came back with a decision win over Nate Diaz before fighting boxers Andre August and Ryan Bourland, knocking out both in the first round.
The 27-year-old eyed Tyson after that. The two were slated to fight in July, but the veteran experienced an ulcer flare-up while on a flight, and the bout had to be rescheduled. Paul remained active, taking on former UFC fighter and bare-knuckle boxing champion Mike Perry instead.
The result was another knockout win for Paul and another few months of hype building around this meeting between him and the former heavyweight king.
The YouTuber has been insistent about setting up the fight and is talking the talk that he’ll knockout the legend.
“When it happens, it’s going to be a little bittersweet because I have love for him, but at the current moment, we’re meant to go to war,” Paul told his YouTube channel of potentially knocking out Tyson. “He’s trying to take the food off my plate, I’m trying to take the food off of his plate and that’s what warriors do.”
As for the actual contest, it would be wise to temper expectations of an actual brawl between the two. It will be fought with 14-ounce gloves as opposed to the traditional 10-ounce. The rounds will be shortened to two minutes which means Tyson’s conditioning won’t be tested and if anyone gets in trouble, it will be easier to survive the round.
Paul has won his last three fights by knockout, but it’s important to consider the opposition. August, Bourland and Perry were all relatively young, active opponents with little name recognition. It was important for Paul to knock them out to continue building his narrative.
His fight against Anderson Silva is the closest facsimile to this matchup. Going against an aging legend, Paul did enough to win the fight in the judges’ eyes, but the actual intensity of it rarely rose above sparring.
This one should play out the same way. Paul will show he is the more sprightly fighter with enough offense to carry most of the rounds. But it’s unlikely Tyson gets knocked out in a fight that is barely more than an exhibition.
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