YouTube sensation Jake Paul, currently masquerading as a celebrity boxer, will take his traveling circus back on the road when he fights former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on Sun., Aug. 22, 2021 live on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Just don’t expect youth to be his only competitive advantage.
“I hate to say it, but I definitely think Jake Paul is going to be on PEDs,” longtime MMA coach Firas Zahabi said (via Bloody Elbow). “It exists in the world of boxing, just like it exists in MMA. And I don’t think Tyron will be on PEDs. I think Tyron will be totally natural. Does it make a difference? It absolutely does.”
Woodley did not test positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) during his UFC career, which in addition to protocols from local athletic commissions, included stringent testing from United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
“I didn’t want to mention it, but my number one factor — Jake Paul’s corner, they’re going to be on all sorts of substances,” Zahabi continued. “I don’t think they test. Maybe the week of the fight, (but) there’s no USADA. I didn’t want to say, but I think that’s a major factor. When I say he’s bigger and stronger and he’s more athletic, I think he’s basically on PEDs.”
Paul, now 3-0 as a professional boxer with three knockouts, is coming off his April destruction of Ben Askren, a longtime friend and training partner of Woodley. As for “The Chosen One,” who turned 39 just a few weeks back, he parted ways with UFC after dropping four straight bouts.
For much more on this month’s Paul-Woodley boxing match click here.