By Matt Lieberman: Former UFC star Tyron Woodley plans on making an example of YouTuber Jake Paul tonight in their headliner on Showtime PPV at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland.
Woodley could wreck Jake Paul’s money-making side job as a boxer by knocking him out tonight. Losing badly to Woodley would make it problematic for Jake to sell his future boxing matches on PPV, and he might then need to focus on being a regular YouTuber.
This will be the professional boxing debut of Woodley, 40, who has spent the last twelve years competing in MMA.
Paul using Woodley as a stepping stone
Jake, 24, is seen as the favorite to win in the eyes of many fans and experts due to the youth and time he’s put into boxing.
Paul, the bother of YouTuber Logan Paul, has been competing in the sport since early last year, and he’s looked good going 3-0.
Jake envisions himself becoming the biggest star in boxing and feels that Woodley is just a stepping stone to fights against Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, to name just a couple.
A more realistic opponent for Jake Paul’s next fight should he win tonight is light heavyweight prospect Tommy Fury (6-0, 4 KOs), the half-brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Tommy, 22, is fighting on the undercard tonight against Anthony Taylor (0-1). Unfortunately, Tommy hasn’t shown the same talent as his half-brother Tyson Fury, and he lacks his huge size.
Jake would gain much attention by fighting Tommy, but it would be a difficult match for him.
Tonight’s fight won’t prove that Jake Paul is ready to cut his teeth against top-level boxers for obvious reasons. Woodley is an MMA guy and not a young one.
He’s 40, lost his last four fights in the UFC, and some view him as past-it. For Jake to wow the fans, he will have to beat a real boxer, preferable someone from the cruiserweight division.
It won’t work if Jake drags a lightweight like Tank Davis up to the cruiserweight division.
That will be viewed as a weak cherry-picking move on Jake’s part if he can set up a fight against the Mayweather Promotions fighter Gervonta.
Paul vs. Woodley – What channel or stream?
Tonight’s Jake vs. Paul fight will be shown on Showtime pay-per-view and BT Sport Box Office. The cost is $59.99, which is reasonable compared to what the typical PPV fight cards run nowadays.
“I decided to be nice to him by bringing him a handful off doo wipes after I knock his a** down,” said Woodley to BT Sport Boxing after the weigh-in
“That led me to use his own stuff against him. His own mind warfare. That’s his whole thing to try and poke fun to try and get into your head, and I got into his head. I’m just too professional.
“I’ve been doing this for too long. He’s probably trying to secure a chicken deal. Hopefully, I didn’t ruin it for him by trying to mess his bag up.
“I’ve been around the block, and I’m not going to let somebody get into my mind. My mind is my strongest fortress.
“That’s what I’ve used to get into the status that I’ve been in with the mixed martial artist and wrestling and where I’m going in boxing.
“It doesn’t bother me at all, to be honest. It makes me feel good because this has been a complete movie from the beginning to the end.
“I just know the ending I saw from the beginning of it. I’ve trained hard, putting myself in a strong position,” Woodley said.
Jake is going to be dangerous early as he always is, and Woodley will have to be cognizant of that.
He can’t afford to get sloppy in there early against Jake because he could run into something.
When does Paul vs. Woodley start?
The approximate start time for tonight’s main event between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley is now 11:30 ET. It was at 10:30 p.m on August 29, but they’ve moved it back an hour.
“I’ve been at the top, as I’ve said,” Woodley continued. “This isn’t my first time. This isn’t my first bag.
“I’ve been here before, and there are things that I could have done differently. I get a chance to rectify that. So when I go crazy, and I go big, I’m going to take off the way I always should have taken off.
“I’m just ready to deal with it and handle it. Not only is it a rebirth [of Woodley’s career], but also I feel rejuvenated.
“I feel good, and everything is in perfect alignment, and I feel thankful and very blessed for everybody that’s helped me out.
“I’ve got a crazy team. Everybody has worked hard, and everybody has been here for the victory.
“Not just for the winning of the fight, but for the opportunity to go crazy,” said Woodley.
Just by getting the fight tonight, Woodley is getting a career-high payday, and if he can beat Jake, it would be the icing on the cake.
We could see a rematch between Woodley and Jake, depending on how close the contest is.
A victory tonight for Woodley will help him get other big paydays, be it against Jake, Logan Paul, KSI, Floyd Mayweather Jr., or perhaps one of the UFC fighters like Conor McGregor. The options for Woodley would be limitless.
Jake vs. Woodley – Where is the fight location?
The card takes place live from the Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland, Ohio. Paul is a Cleveland native.
“I’ve been on 10 from day one since I signed the contract,” said Woodley. “No, shenanigans have made me go higher.
“I’m at the maximum. I was ready to create the most craziest and deathliest violence anyway.
“You guys will see. I usually walk around at 205. Cutting to 170 is 35 pounds. I don’t do it all at once.
“There have been times during fight week when I walk in there at 196. I was suffering in silence.
“I never talked about it and never told anybody. It was hurting. All those world title fights and five-round fights.
“Most of my damaging blows were thrown in the fifth round. So imagine the kind of damage I can cause if my legs are fresh and I’m not dehydrated.
“I didn’t miss one meal. I was eating chicken yesterday. So I feel like that’s going to translate into a phenomenal performance, and I feel good. I feel good about everything,” said Woodley.
It will be difficult for Woodley to excel the way he normally does because he won’t be able to use any of his grappling skills tonight due to the fight being under the rules of boxing.
