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CLEVELAND – Jake Paul expects to display facets of his skill set Sunday night that the boxing novice hasn’t had a chance to demonstrate due to an inexperienced, low level of opposition.
Paul predicted that Tyron Woodley will enable him to show he is capable of throwing more than the right hand that knocked out former UFC welterweight Ben Askren in the first round and retired NBA point guard Nate Robinson in the second round of his past two fights. The 6-feet-1 Paul and the 5-feet-9 Woodley will square off in an eight-round cruiserweight fight Sunday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Most experts expect Woodley to push Paul more than Askren, Robinson or Ali Eson Gib, the YouTube rival that Paul stopped in the first round of his pro debut in January 2020. Paul disrespectfully disagreed yet again during their final press conference Thursday at the Hilton hotel.
Paul promised to knock Woodley into retirement and turn his 39-year-old opponent into “a meme” in the main event of Showtime Pay-Per-View’s five-fight telecast from the home arena of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. The 24-year-old Paul was born in Cleveland and raised in nearby Westlake, Ohio.
“Tyron Woodley, he really is the chosen one,” Paul said. “We chose him to get his ass beat. Five-time UFC champion, dah, dah, dah. Explosive, dah, dah, dah. Knockout power. That’s all cool, but none of that matters Sunday night. And I’m sending him into retirement, turning him into a meme and people will see, ‘Oh, my gosh, this kid can fight! He’s got skills. He can take a punch. That gas tank is nice. That inside fighting is nice. That body work is nice. That jab is nice. That 1-2 is nice. Oh, and then he came with the overhand right. Oh, that’s nice. Oh, he got a hook, too. He got a check hook. Oh, my God!’ People are gonna be surprised. I haven’t shown sh!t! I can fight southpaw, too. I might come out southpaw. I haven’t even shown that yet. So yeah, this is my coming-out party.”
If Paul defeats Woodley, he could box Tyson Fury’s younger brother, Tommy Fury, in his following fight. England’s Fury (6-0, 4 KOs) is scheduled to face another mixed martial artist, Anthony Taylor (0-1), in a televised four-round cruiserweight contest on the Paul-Woodley undercard.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.