Is Jake Paul taking performance enhancing drugs? Firas Zahabi definitely thinks so.
Firas Zahabi broke down the upcoming Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley boxing match, and the renowned MMA coach says he wouldn’t be too surprised if the former UFC champion loses.
“This is a very tough fight for Tyron,” Zahabi said on a recent AMA session. “Why would Tyron Woodley possibly lose this fight? One, the guy he’s fighting is bigger, and he’s a big puncher.”
Zahabi went on to say that Woodley is “a better boxer than Jake Paul,” but being too passive and risk averse could cost him.
“(Woodley) doesn’t want to take that risk, even though he has that skill,” Zahabi said. “He executes in sparring, but he’s a little bit gunshy (in actual fights).
“Two things are gonna happen, either (Jake Paul) is going to move ahead on the scorecards against Woodley, or he’s gonna get knocked out by a counter right. I doubt Woodley knocks him out with any other punch.
“He knocks out a young, overly excited Jake Paul, who’s overly confident, walks into his right hand and gets laid out. Is that a possibility? Absolutely. However, I do feel that Jake Paul holds the same weapon. He’s got a devastating, devastating right hand, except Jake Paul is going to be more active, with the same right hand.
“Either guy can get knocked out with a right hand, but Jake Paul is bigger, explosive, very athletic,” Zahabi said. “Because he’s bigger, he could push around, he could bully a Tyron Woodley a little bit.”
When asked about the drug testing situation in this fight, Zahabi revealed that when he kept on saying that Paul will be “bigger” and “stronger,” he was alluding to the YouTuber turned boxer using performance enhancing drugs.
“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 said. “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.
“I hate to say it, but I definitely think Jake Paul is going to be on PEDs. It exists in the world of boxing, just like it exists in MMA,” he said. “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.”
Zahabi said that Woodley will have a hard time, but he’s still picking him to win, mainly because they’ve trained together in the past. He believes the first few rounds will be “very dangerous” for an “overly tentative” Woodley, but his fight experience could eventually help in the latter rounds.
Paul, who is now 3-0 as a pro-boxer, will fight a debuting Woodley on August 29.