Fight Week: Jake Paul could face biggest test against Tyron Woodley
FIGHT WEEK
YOUTUBER-TURNED-BOXER JACK PAUL RETURNS TO THE RING AGAINST FORMER UFC CHAMPION TYRON WOODLEY ON PAY-PER-VIEW SUNDAY
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JAKE PAUL (3-0, 3 KOs)
VS. TYRON WOODLEY (0-0, 0 KOs)
- When: Sunday, Aug. 29
- Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland
- TV/Stream: Pay-per-view ($59.99)
- Division: Cruiserweight
- At stake: No titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Paul is slightly more than a 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Amanda Serrano vs. Yamileth Mercado, featherweights (for Serrano’s WBC and WBO titles; Daniel Dubois vs. Joe Cusumano, heavyweights; Charles Conwell vs. Mark DeLuca, junior middleweights; Montana Love vs. Ivan Barancyhk, junior welterweights
- Prediction:
- Background: Has Jake Paul bitten off more than he can chew this time? The YouTuber-turned-boxer has stopped all three of his opponents, fellow internet star Ali Eson Gib, former NBA player Nate Robinson and retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren. Woodley could be a stiffer challenge. The 39-year-old former UFC champ, who will be making his boxing debut, has limited boxing skills – similar to those of Askren — but he has knockout power. That means this fight could come down to who lands the big punch first. Paul has put the work in to learn the fundamentals of the sport and is improving. However, his ability to hurt his opponents is the main reason he is unbeaten in his short career. Paul will have a size advantage over Woodley, who fought at 170 pounds in mixed martial arts. He’s 6-foot-1 and a natural 200-pounder. Woodley is only 5-9. Woodley has much more experience than Paul in the ring. He has had a reported 27 MMA fights, winning 19 of them (seven by knockout). Also, he has been working with the master – Floyd Mayweather – on his boxing skills. We’ll see how much he has learned in a short time. Bottom line: This is the most-interesting matchup of Paul’s career. Also on the card, knockout artist Amanda Serrano (40-1-1, 30 KOs) will defend her featherweight titles against Yamileth Mercado (18-2, 5 KOs). And heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois (16-1, 15 KOs) continues his comeback against Joe Cusumano (19-3, 17 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout. Dubois suffered a broken orbital socket in his knockout loss to Joe Joyce last November. He bounced back by stopping Bogdan Dinu in June.
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Also fighting this weekend: Eridson Garcia (14-1, 9 KOs) faces Armando Frausto (-1-1, 5 KOs) in a 10-round junior lightweight bout Thursday in Humble, Texas (UFC Fight Pass); Kim Clavel (13-0, 2 KOs) takes on Maria Soledad Vargas (15-3-1, 1 KO) in a 10-round junior flyweight fight Saturday in Montreal (FITE).