Jake Paul vs Mike Perry Preview
The Jake Paul roadshow rolls on to yet another UFC name. The YouTube star faces off against Mike Perry, a former UFC fighter with bare-knuckle boxing experience. Usually, celebrities like Paul look for easy fights, such as 58-year-old Mike Tyson. However, this occasion does seem more risque for Paul.
The fight between Paul and Perry will take place on July 20 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa. It will be late for Irish residents, as they scheduled the ring walk at 4:00 am on Sunday. While credit is due for Paul to find a fight between his scheduled bout with Tyson, the 0-1 Perry looks to be a calculated move to keep him fresh for his fight with one of the best heavyweight boxers ever.
Jake Paul vs Mike Perry Head-To-Head and Key Stats
It’s hard to tell what Jake wants to do with his boxing career. Granted, he has started much later than almost any other notable professional that springs to mind. Other than Rocky Marciano, who didn’t start boxing until 23, and Deontay Wilder, who took up the sport for the first time at 20. Don’t worry – we’re not putting Paul in a bracket with these ex-champions, but it shows that taking the sport up later can still result in a successful career.
Paul’s debut back in August 2018 seemed to be an anomaly then. Many believed it was a gimmick-style cash grab, more of an event than a serious quest to become a pro boxer. While he’s flirted between ideas of fighting actual, legitimate professional tests, his fight card shows he is more interested in the gimmicks. Take Mike Tyson as an example. His last professional fight was in 2005. Nobody can pinpoint the end goal for the polarising social media star.
To Jake’s credit, he has upped the competition and is 2-1 against professional boxers. Despite his ridiculous call-outs of legends of the sport like Canelo Álvarez, it appears when it comes to crunch time, Jake is more up for the idea of fighting ex-MMA guys or club fighters or Mike Tyson, who is pushing the age of 60. Do we blame him? If provided with the same options, fighting Mike Perry in a boxing match is probably a better road than the Mexican icon.
Paul vs Perry is not a conventional matchup that we’re used to seeing; between them, they’ve competed in several crossover events. Paul has fought YouTubers, retired MMA fighters, journeyman pros, and novice contenders. Perry has competed in the UFC and has limited experience in pro boxing but has since revitalised himself as a contender in the fringe sport of bare-knuckle boxing.
However, if we’re exploring key stats and head-to-head records, we have to do so through the prism of professional boxing. The fight on July 20th will occur under professional boxing rules for eight rounds. The sold-out Amalie Arena will host the event, and it’s also part of an ambitious PPV offer on DAZN.
We say it’s ambitious, but there’s a lot of interest in this fight, as there usually is when Paul fights. Boxing betting markets are booming at the prospect of another “Problem Child” event. But it feels like it’s becoming a bit deflated, given that he’s still fighting UFC guys ten fights into his professional boxing career.
Despite Paul’s lofty ambition in the sport, it’s unlikely he will ever get to higher echelons or crack the top 10 boxers of all time list. The Tommy Fury bout highlighted his limitations. But, for a YouTuber to take up the sport and go eight rounds with an actual half-decent pro is no mean feat.
Perry is 0-1 in professional boxing, his only loss coming by knockout, and Paul is 9-1. However, with only 3 of these fights against pro boxers, his record is a more realistic 2-1. He is coming off an explosive first-round knockout, as detailed below.
As he often does in his bouts, Paul goes in as the much bigger man. He has a 3-inch height advantage and a 5-inch reach advantage over Perry.
The key stat here is that Perry has been knocked out in his only pro bout. While he has improved in bare-knuckle fighting, it’s not the same as the pros. Height and weight advantage will be the deciding factors here, and if the fight goes into the latter stages, Paul will have the edge in stamina, too.
Perry has proven in the Alvarez fight he can stomach a good shot and has a decent chin in bare-knuckle, but he won’t want to take too many of these from Paul.
Jake Paul vs Mike Perry Prediction
Prediction: Jake Paul to win by TKO
Paul is the betting favourite, so we must dive deeper into the market to find value. While odds are subject to change, especially in the 24 hours before the main event starts, there are also several live betting markets to explore once the first bell rings.
Perry’s recent renaissance in the bare-knuckle game is a positive. While Paul is the favourite, it’s not the sort of outrageous odds we’ve seen for his last two fights. Perry is a live wire, and we know he can fight. So, one boxing fight back in 2015 might not be the best measuring stick.
There’s a saying in boxing that a fighter is only as good as their last fight. With three straight knockout wins in BKFC back to back, including the first-round knockout in his last fight vs Alves, there’s no denying that he knows how to box.
For all the grief Paul seems to get online, he looks like a boxer. However, he’s also fighting a career middleweight and light heavyweight despite being a cruiserweight, so we’re not laying it on too thick. He is coming into the ring with all the physical advantages we listed earlier, and the better experience in the pro game. He has fought the slightly better calibre opposition and has shown that he has power.
We expect the first round or two to be cagey before Paul finds his range. He’s used to pacing himself for longer, but he’s shown that he can carry his power throughout the fight. It’d be a surprise to see him lose. Our boxing prediction thinks it’s a stretch to expect the fight to go the allotted eight rounds, too. We would say that a mid-round stoppage for Paul is the most likely outcome, between four and six.
Jake Paul vs Mike Perry Betting Tips
Now that we have backed The Problem Child to get the W against Perry in the middle round, exploring the betting markets that capture this point of view is our next step. Looking at some of the over/under betting markets for a mid-round stoppage could be a good pick.
The transition from bare-knuckle boxing to pro boxing sounds easier than the practicalities. Different gloves, ring size, and the allotted fight time mean he must adapt quickly and learn to fight at a rhythm without tiring out.
He’s a seasoned UFC vet, so seeing him freeze under the big lights would be a surprise. But with Eddie Hearn giving him zero chance and our platform having a bet on Jake Paul to win at 2/7, we’d have to say Eddie is probably right on this one. Maybe we would lean more favourably in his direction if Perry had a couple of physical advantages.
Still, we don’t expect to see anything other than a Paul victory. Therefore, if you are betting on the boxing this weekend, our tip is the outright Jake win at 2/7. We suggest monitoring the moneyline or special markets closer to the event, such as Jake Paul to score one or more knockdowns.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry Fight Card
For all the ridicule Jake has faced, he steps up to the plate and challenges himself, trains hard, and takes the sport seriously. He’s also made inroads in promoting equality in the sport and has helped to elevate some of the top female stars in the sport today.
Having signed Amanda Serrano and promoted her incredible showdown against Katie Taylor, she will be the chief support in a 10-round fight. Serrano is looking to impress, considering she’s the top super lightweight in the world. She will have a lot of eyes on her from casual fans who are tuning in to watch the main event.
The second of two female bouts on the card is at 168 pounds between Shadasia Green and Natasha Spence. Both women are in the top 5 rankings of the governing bodies, so this one could steal the show on the undercard.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr has also found his way on the undercard and sees himself facing off against an opponent who is 1-0. The son of a legend, Chavez Jr has often struggled to remove himself from his father’s shadow despite having a respectable career.
He won the WBC title and nearly replicated a dramatic last-round knockout against the then #1 name at 160, Sergio Martinez, as his father did against Meldrick Taylor. A flurry of issues outside the ring has scuppered his chance to stay at the top level, and we’re not sure how much he has left after a shock loss to Anderson Silva. The other bouts on the card include:
- Ashton Sylve vs. Lucas Bahdi – Lightweight
- Tony Aguilar vs. Corey Marksman – Lightweight
- Alexis Chaparro vs. Kevin Hill – Middleweight
- Angel Barrientes vs. Edwin Rodriguez – Super bantamweight
- Ariel Perez vs. Dane Guerrero – Light heavyweight
