Jake Paul: No Mike Tyson? No problem; faces BKFC star Mike Perry
Shows no respect; calls bare knuckle fighters 'meat heads' and 'drunken bastards on the tail end of their careers just trying to get a check'
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Although Jake Paul has traded in one Mike for another, he still aims to put on a show in the main event of a Most Valuable Promotions card on Saturday (DAZN PPV, PPV.com, 9 p.m. ET, $64.99) at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The social media influencer/YouTuber turned boxer will fight “Platinum” Mike Perry, the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship star, in an eight-round cruiserweight boxing match, but he was, of course, scheduled to fight the legendary former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Tyson, 58, was going to exit a nearly 20-year retirement to fight Paul in an official boxing match — albeit with the tweaks of having two-minute rounds and 14-ounce gloves — on Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. But when Tyson suffered a flare up on an ulcer and was forced to postpone the fight until Nov. 15, Paul was not about to put his career on hold.
He and his team quickly called an audible. They kept the date, shifted the site and lined up Perry, a former UFC competitor, who has emerged as the No. 1 fighter and most popular attraction in the BKFC, where he is 5-0 with 3 knockouts, although 0-1 with a fourth-round knockout loss in his only pro boxing match (at super middleweight in 2015).
Paul said it took him a few days to get over the disappointment of the Tyson fight being postponed but then decided to press for the fight with Perry because he has a “crazy fan base” that constantly responded to Paul’s social media posts telling him he was scared to fight Perry.
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