*** HIGHLIGHTS! Watch Jake Paul Pulverize Mike Perry ***
As much as I wanted to believe in the unlikely underdog tale of a Mike Perry upset win over Jake Paul, there was never an actual moment of belief. Perry should never be counted out of a fist fight because of his grit and durability, but the very obvious problem here was size.
Admittedly, size isn’t the only reason Perry lost. The king of bareknuckle is not a good gloved boxer by any stretch of the imagination. His stance works in BKFC — sort of, Eddie Alvarez punished him in similar fashion (watch highlights) — but he looks like a fish out of water in the actual ring, standing bolt upright with his knees locked out. From this positioning, Perry can really only close distance by walking through shots. Occasionally, he can slip inside and leap forward, but that’s possible more because of athleticism than good form.
Paul punished that fundamental flaw ruthlessly with a stiff jab, looping left hooks, and crushing overhand rights. The jab stopped him in his tracks, and the wide shots clipped his tall head.
It was a good, if obvious, gameplan (watch highlights).
It’s just hard to be impressed when Paul looks 30 pounds heavier. “The Problem Child” is known for stacking the odds in his favor: he routinely targets older and smaller opponents. Though Mike Tyson was supposed be an extreme in the former, Tyson’s “medical emergency” resulted in the most depressing size disparity yet.
Perry is a long-time Welterweight and never seemed particularly big for the weight class. Paul, conversely, has historically fought closer to 185 pounds. In his preparation for the Tyson fight, Paul has focused on gaining weight and now has to cut to make 200 pounds. Maybe Paul gained all that weight in rapid time via hard work and lean protein … or perhaps he leaned on more chemically-enhanced means. Either way, the guy is freaking massive now and has no business in the ring with Welterweights.
Later this year, Paul will face off with a (retired) Heavyweight in Tyson, a more appropriately-sized opponent were it only 2004 when Tyson first began looking washed up. Alternatively, Paul called out Alex Pereira, UFC’s Light Heavyweight champion who always looks quite massive himself.
It’s an annoyingly smart callout.
See, Paul gets public credit for calling out a dangerous knockout artist in his prime at an appropriate weight class who just so happens to be one of UFC’s only active stars. Yet, that match up will never happen while “Poatan” is signed to UFC’s roster, so there’s no actual threat of Pereira making him look like an amateur.
After Tyson, I don’t know what Paul’s actual next move will be. I do know, however, that he’s effectively beefed himself out of his alleged dream match ups versus much smaller men like Canelo Alvarez or Conor McGregor.
If he’s not careful, he’ll end up in the ring with the other Fury brother.
For complete Perry vs. Paul results and play-by-play, click HERE.