Jake Paul continues to change the landscape of the boxing game by welcoming bigger and bigger challenges. The "Problem Child" booked his biggest fight to date, when it was announced he would face off against legendary former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on July 20 in Arlington, Texas.
The issue is Tyson is 58 years old, and worries about his age and health came into question immediately after the fight was announced. To make matters worse, Tyson suffered a "medical scare" during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles in May.
Tyson apparently suffered an ulcer flare-up and had to be attended to by medical professionals when the flight landed. The result of the flare-up was that doctors told Tyson he could not train fully.
The scheduled bout between Tyson and Paul was then postponed from July 20 to Nov. 15. Instead of training harder, Paul found a new opponent for July 20.
It was announced that Paul would face off against former UFC and current undefeated BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship) fighter Mike Perry. Perry is a dangerous striker and could be the biggest challenge to date for Paul.
As stated, Perry is undefeated in the BKFC. He has defeated former and current UFC fighters like Michael Page, Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez, and Thiago Alves. Perry also holds a 14-8 MMA record, with notable wins over Mickey Gall, Alex Oliveira, and Paul Felder.
Perry is known for his powerful striking. Though he has not yet tried his hand at professional boxing, his experience in the octagon and BKFC could spell trouble for Paul.
Paul joined DAZN Boxing to talk about his fighting journey, and what kind of a threat Perry poses to him.
According to Paul, "A lot of people think I'm crazy for pivoting to this; why Mike Perry, why now, why take the risk, you could lose the biggest payday of your life against Mike Tyson if you lose to Mike Perry who is a violent killer, a bare-knuckle, undefeated legend over there. He takes punches like they're nothing, he's fast, athletic, he hits hard, he's a brawler, and I can't take that lightly. This whole thing is a risk, I'm focused on July 20, I'm focused on Mike Perry, and being in that mindset will lead me to victory."
Paul is very self-aware of the fact that Perry is not a pushover in the sport of fighting. He is a renowned striker and a person that could easily knock Paul out.
The other important aspect of Paul's comments is he is risking a huge payday if he were to have to drop out of his fight with Tyson. No one has yet to fully damage or knock out Paul, but both of those could happen in his bout with Perry.
The boxing commission could step in and prevent Paul from fighting Tyson depending on the damage that he has sustained in his fight with Perry. This could be especially true if he were to get knocked out.
Most fighters don't typically take fights within six months of being knocked out, for fear they could face another knockout. There is also the danger of being cut open and needing stitches to worry about.
Again, Perry is a violent striker and too much damage to Paul's face could also lead to the commission stepping in and preventing his fight with Tyson in November.
Paul has only lost once in his professional boxing career, which was to Tommy Fury in Feb. 2023. The fight went in favor of Tommy by a split decision. Even then Paul was not damaged that much, so it stands to reason he should be able to hold his own against Perry.
Time will tell if Perry gets the victory over Paul on July 20. Should this happen and Paul is knocked out or damaged in any extensive way, don't expect his fight with Tyson in November to go ahead.
