Jake Paul warmed up for his November 15 clash with Mike Tyson by stopping Mike Perry in six rounds at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on Saturday night.
Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) looked on course for an early night against Perry (0-2), who has made his name as a bare-knuckle boxer, when he set him down in the first round with a wide, cuffing right hand. Perry bounced right back up, however, and tried to swarm Paul in the corner. Paul, however, landed a hook and a right hand before missing with an uppercut at round end.
Paul knocked Perry down for a second time in round two, this one a clean knockdown from a jab to the chest and a straight right hand; but Perry, low on boxing skills but overflowing with toughness, kept stalking forward.
Indeed, in the third, Perry began walking Paul down, trying to land leaping left hooks as Paul retreated behind a jab. In the fourth, however, a Paul hook and jab landed perfectly and took Perry’s equilibrium, sending him staggering into the ropes. Paul peppered him with jabs and another jab wobbled him again. A Paul hook caused Perry to stagger once more at the bell.
In the fifth, Paul focused on his jab, snapping back the head of a stiff-legged Perry, before a sweeping hook and a right hand landed clean.
The end came in the sixth, when a Paul hook sent Perry staggering into the ropes. A left hook and follow-up flurry had Perry hurt again and he fell in the corner for a third knockdown of the night. He clambered to his feet, but the referee waved it off.
“Man, he’s tough as nails,” said Paul, who claimed he had been feeling unwell and had carried a damaged knuckle into the contest. “I’m sorry it took so long. I did put him down in the first round, but he survived it. Mike Tyson, you’re next.”
Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcasted about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.
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