After his fight against Mike Tyson was pushed back to Nov. 15, Jake Paul won't be waiting that long to get back into the ring.
Per ESPN's Andreas Hale, Paul will be fighting on the original fight date of July 20 against "Platinum" Mike Perry in an eight-round boxing match at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Paul and Tyson were originally set to face each other at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the fight was going to be the first combat sports event to be streamed live on Netflix. Instead, fans will have to wait a few more months to see Tyson back in the ring, as the former heavyweight champion had to pull out of the matchup due to a medical issue.
Rather than waiting to fight on the new date, Paul chose to remain active and face Perry, a former UFC fighter who currently competes in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and has an undefeated record of 5-0 with three knockouts. The fight will be broadcast on DAZN pay-per-view and is billed as "Fear No Man."
"When Paul vs. Tyson was rescheduled, I knew immediately that I wanted to still fight on Saturday, July 20. Now, as I prepare for my fight against Iron Mike, there's no better opponent for me than Mike Perry," Paul told Hale in a statement. "He's a proven knockout artist who has shown to be a maniac in and out of the ring. This is the perfect experience for me to gain in advance of facing Mike Tyson."
In addition to Paul choosing not to wait until November to return, Amanda Serrano also will be competing on the card ahead of her rematch with Katie Taylor. Serrano, who hasn't fought since October 2023, will be facing Stevie Morgan in a 10-round welterweight bout in the co-main event.
"The stakes are high for every single one of MVP's fighters stepping into the ring on Saturday, July 20. For Jake and Amanda, the pressure is on to emerge with a W against two very dangerous opponents in Mike Perry and Stevie Morgan," said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions. "Jake Paul is facing a monster in Mike Perry. Amanda Serrano is going in there with a fighter who has 13 KOs in 15 fights. Nothing is a given for our two superstars."
