By Matt Lieberman: Undefeated YouTuber Jake Paul (4-0, 3 KOs) came out on top with an eight-round split decision over the aging former UFC champion Tyron Woodley (0-1) in cruiserweight action on Sunday night at the Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Woodley hurt Jake in the fourth round with a big shot, and then let him off the hook by failing to go after him.
It’s unclear what Woodley was waiting for because Jake was totally exhausted from the fifth round. He was so tired that he looked like he needed oxygen.
The fight was a letdown in terms of action as neither fighter fought well, and there wasn’t much drama due to the low number of punches landed.
The scores were 77-75, 78-74 Paul, 77-75 Woodley. Jake controlled the action in the first three rounds, and then Woodley came on in the second half of the contest.
Paul, 24, gassed out after four rounds and was lucky not to get knocked out. He was hurt in the fourth, and fighting on fumes in the last four rounds.
The fight showed that Jake has major stamina problems that will need to be taken care of if he wants to fight a real boxer instead of old MMA fighters, basketball players, or fellow YouTubers.
The cardio problems that Jake showed in the fight aren’t the type that can be fixed easily. This could be a build-in problem that is resistant to improvement. In that respect, Jake is similar to his brother Logan, who has severe cardio issues as well.
It’s surprising that a fighter with Woodley’s experience failed to try and take advantage of Paul being hurt and gassed out during the second half of the fight. But that could be a reason why Woodley lost his last four fights in the UFC. He doesn’t let his hands go and seems overly cautious.
Jake’s boxing skills and powerful jab enabled him to edge it against the shorter Woodley, who looked like he was afraid to throw punches.
Compared to some of the undercard fights, the Jake vs. Woodley fight was a big letdown because neither of them mixed it up the way normal boxers do.
They fought more like second-tier fighters and nowhere near world-class. The disappointing thing about the fight is that it was a poor product in a fight that was sold for $59.99 on Showtime PPV. Both fighters looked like a couple of novices.
From this performance, it would be a good idea for Jake to continue to fight non-boxers because he’s not good enough to beat any real boxers.
Also, there are second-tier journeymen fighters that would likely beat Jake at cruiserweight. His stamina problems and weak chin make him food for any halfway decent cruiserweight, light heavyweight, or super middleweight. Paul is what he is…he’s a celebrity boxer, who hustles fights against non-boxers, and peddles them to his 10 million followers on YouTube.
