Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry fight week has arrived and the pre-fight buzz has begun.
YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Paul (9-1), will face UFC veteran-turned-boxer Perry (0-1) in a 200-pound, eight-round traditional boxing bout at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on July 20. The event will air on pay-per-view on DAZN.
During a face-to-face pre-fight interview, “The Problem Child” sat inches from BKFC's “King of Violence” and exchanged thoughts on the upcoming battle.
Questions prompted by the moderator quickly elicited a wide range of responses, from expert critiques of the two fighters' techniques to a pro-wrestling promotion battle between two elementary school kids.
“I punch too hard, I punch too clean, I punch too hard, I have too much power in my hands. He makes a lot of mistakes,” Paul said on “MVP Face 2 Face.” “You could see it in the mitt work video he posted today. … There's nothing he can do and I respect him. He's very violent. I'm not denying Mike Perry's ability. He can beat a lot of people, but he can't beat me.”
Perry quickly fired back, disparaging Paul's performance against other former mixed martial artists such as Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, who fought Paul when they were past their prime.
“I'm at the peak of my career right now,” Perry said. “I've been at my best right now. I learned my lesson at the UFC, which was a tough place to learn. Since I learned my lesson, I'm now fighting these guys and having success.”
The semi-serious critique turned into a silly exchange of banter between the two fighters as Perry said he intended to exploit weaknesses he had identified in Paul's fight.
“In this fight, I'm gonna take advantage of Green's tendencies and I'm gonna break you,” Perry said. “You're super squishy. I'm hard as a rock. My shit's gonna be messed up.”
Paul, who says he loves his “fat and happy self,” has been bulking up in preparation for his heavyweight bout with Mike Tyson, which was originally scheduled for July 20 but has been rescheduled for November 15. Paul called the bout with Perry “Mike's appetizer” as he remains focused on beating Tyson later this year.
“Most people on the internet don't know anything about boxing,” Perry says. “They've never competed or they're special needs people. The thing about people with intellectual disabilities is they don't know they're mentally disabled.”
The exchange continued throughout the interview, with both men admitting they enjoy each other's company, but when the conversation turned to their past sparring matches, the real talk crept in again.
“I'm looking forward to the fight,” Perry said. “I love getting hit and I love hitting, so let's see what happens. Ten-ounce gloves, no head gear. I'm going to hurt you, Jake. If you try to hurt me, I'm going to laugh in your face.”
Paul and Perry couldn't agree on the length of the sparring session — Perry recalled it being six rounds, while Paul swears it was five and has video evidence — but either way, the two will have the opportunity to compete in a sanctioned professional bout on Saturday.
“Your little green punch can't even reach my brain stem,” Perry said, “I'll dig out your eyeballs and dig up your memories.”
“Don't do that,” Paul replied. “Don't do that, Mikey.”
For more details on the card, check out MMA Junkie's Paul vs. Perry event hub.
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