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CLEVELAND – Jake Paul stands four inches taller than Tyron Woodley.
Paul also has weighed in at least 189 pounds for each of his three professional boxing matches, 19 pounds more than the mixed martial arts welterweight limit at which Woodley competed for many years. Woodley contends, though, that their size discrepancy has been greatly exaggerated during the buildup toward their eight-round cruiserweight main event at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday night.
Neither Paul nor Woodley can weigh more than their contracted catch weight of 190 pounds at their weigh-in Saturday at KeyBank State Theater in downtown Cleveland.
Though 39 years old, Woodley feels fresher to an extent for his pro boxing debut than he did for any of his mixed martial arts bouts because he hasn’t struggled to make weight. He credited trainers Gerald Tucker and Pedro Diaz for helping him get in tremendous physical condition for this Showtime Pay-Per-View main event.
“I mean, look at how f—— ripped up [I am],” Woodley told Showtime’s Brian Campbell and Luke Thomas following an open workout Wednesday night at Cleveland Public Square. “I’m like weigh-in weight the way I look. Man, I was 205 normally. Right now, I’m in the [190s]. So, for me, it’s like I’ve been killing myself to make 170 all these years in quiet.”
The 5-feet-9 Woodley lost each of his last four UFC fights, the last two by technical knockout and submission, respectively. The former UFC welterweight champion still is considered a markedly more dangerous challenge than any of Paul’s first three opponents – fellow YouTube sensation Ali Eson Gib, former NBA point guard Nate Robinson and Woodley’s friend, former UFC fighter Ben Askren.
None of those three fights lasted beyond the second round.
Woodley, a former NCAA championship wrestler for the University of Missouri, emphasized during his interview with Campbell and Thomas that the 24-year-old Paul (3-0, 3 KOs) doesn’t own as much of a size advantage as many experts and fans seem to believe. He didn’t bring it up before fight week, according to Woodley, because he was concerned that a “nervous” Paul would withdraw from their fight.
“Very much so,” Woodley said. “But I waited till this week, so he couldn’t bitch out. The no bitch-out clause.”
Paul and Woodley will headline a five-fight Showtime Pay-Per-View event that’s scheduled to start at 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday night. The suggested retail price for the Paul-Woodley show is $59.99.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.