The Cruiserweight fight between social media influencer turned aspiring boxer Jake Paul and MMA star and Bareknuckle boxer Mike Perry on July 20th at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL was one born out of unforeseen circumstances. For several months after all, the talk of many both in and out of Boxing for good and bad has been Paul’s signed bout with long-retired International Boxing Hall of Famer and former two-time World Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, which was to have taken place on July 20th in Arlington, TX. When the fifty-eight year old suffered a medical emergency recently forcing a postponement of that bout to November 15th, Paul opted to maintain the original date, and thus, this bout with Perry as well as a change in location took place on a little more than four weeks notice.
Despite the limited time both men had to prepare and promote this bout, more than 15,000 spectators filed into Amalie Arena to see it. Regardless of what one might think of Jake Paul and his credibility as a legitimate boxer as he has had no shortage of critics, including this observer, it is a testament to his ability as a promoter to draw such a crowd on limited notice, even though there were reports of issues with regard to filling the arena and availability of tickets were still available as of the weigh-in on July 19th.
Having said that, if one were being honest, there were not much in the way of expectations for this fight, despite the risk Paul was taking by keeping his originally scheduled date, with the bout with Tyson, at least on paper, still in the pipeline. The reason why there were not many expectations going into this fight was because this was another instance where Paul was facing a fighter primarily known for his participation in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and one with limited Boxing experience. A wrinkle to that, however, was Perry, while having only one fight under his belt fought under traditional Boxing rules, has spent the last several years establishing himself fighting in Bareknuckle Boxing, where he is unbeaten.
In previewing this bout, although I noted Perry’s toughness and ability to take a punch in fights fought under the Bareknuckle Boxing format, he was susceptible to being hit with the right hand, which coincidentally is Paul’s primary weapon. It did not take long for this to become evident as Paul quickly found a home for his right hand and dropped Perry early in the first round with an overhand right. While Perry’s mettle would be something that would be one of the stories of this fight as he would take significant punishment throughout, his inability to move his head as well as keep his hands up to defend against what Paul threw at him, made this fight a mismatch. There were occasions throughout the fight where Perry would connect with a solid punch on Paul, but the pattern of the fight remained the same, Paul landing the cleaner, harder shots on a fighter with significant defensive liabilities. Two additional knockdowns would be scored by Paul in rounds two and six, both as a result of right hands, with the final knockdown resulting in the fight being stopped as Perry got up on very wobbly legs and was deemed unable to continue by Referee Christopher Young.
If one were to ask this observer for his opinion, I would offer one slight criticism. A criticism not of Paul, but of Referee Christopher Young, a recent inductee in the 2024 class of the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame, who is one of the best referees in the state of Florida, where yours truly also resides. Despite Young’s reputation as one of the best referees Florida has to offer, I felt the fight probably should have been stopped around the fourth round. Although no one can take anything away from the grit and determination Mike Perry showed in this fight, when it becomes evident that one fighter is at a competitive disadvantage and is taking the type of beating that could have long-term repercussions, the fight should be stopped. While the decision on when to stop a fight is not an exact science and should be treated on a case by case basis, and giving credit where it is due in that Young did stop the fight in the sixth round when Perry got up and could not keep his legs under him, I simply feel that in this case, with the contest having been clearly one-sided long before the sixth round, Young gave Perry too much of the benefit of doubt in allowing the fight to go on a bit longer than it should have.
If one were also to be honest, they would say that this fight did not prove much as far as Paul’s claim of wanting to be a world champion. This was a scenario where to his credit, he was able to showcase evolving skills as well as patience, but the criticisms of Paul remain, simply because he is not fighting against boxers exclusively and is not taking the necessary steps by facing fighters that will not only continue to help in his development as a fighter, but more specifically, boxers that will allow him to work his way into position to become a contender to potentially challenge for a world championship. To take it a step further, if the signed encounter with Mike Tyson does indeed happen in November, yes, it will be an event that will draw attention particularly amongst the casual sports fan, which is one reason why Netflix was likely interested in such an event and subsequently secured exclusive rights to the event. In all truth and honesty, however, getting in the ring against a fifty-eight year old, long-retired boxer will not prove much, even if that boxer is named Mike Tyson.
While Paul does deserve credit where it is due for not only the commitment he has shown to the sport, his continued development, and his prowess as a promoter, at some point, he and his team will have to come to the realization that even though he entered the sport in an unconventional way as being a social media influencer, the standards of the sport have to be respected, and that means if one is truly serious about wanting to be taken seriously as a boxer and wants to compete for a world championship, they need to follow a similar path as virtually all boxers who work their way up and that means fighting boxers exclusively, regardless of whether they have name recognition or not and fighting against boxers that will allow said fighter to work their way into contention to be able to get into that position. Crossover events like the Paul-Tyson encounter or the numerous fighters Paul has fought that come either from the influencer world or from the sport of MMA do indeed draw attention, there is no denying that, but it does not prove much as far as one’s hope of being taken seriously as a fighter, who wants to become a world champion.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth,”
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