Jake Paul overwhelms Mike Perry to score 6th round knockout, calls out UFC champ Alex Pereira
Jake Paul delivered on his promise to finish “The King of Violence” after he scored three knockdowns before finally putting an end to Mike Perry in the sixth round.
Facing an undersized opponent who offered very little defense, Paul just teed off on Perry and he put the BKFC superstar down on the canvas in both the first and second round. Still, Perry kept coming back for more, although he showed far more toughness than skill when it came to his boxing prowess.
There were a couple of moments where it looked like the referee might stop it but Perry refused to go away. It wasn’t until the sixth round when Paul wobbled Perry again and just rushed forward with a flurry of shots that finally put the UFC veteran down on the canvas for the final time.
Perry got back to his feet before the 10 count but as he stumbled when the referee commanded to see his balance, the fight was waved off. The official stoppage came at 1:12 in the sixth round.
“He’s tough as nails,” Paul said about Perry. “I’m sorry it took so long. Respect to Mike Perry. I just hit too hard, he took a lot of damage. I kind of expected that. I put him down in the first round but he survived it. Mike Tyson, you’re next big boy, sign the contract.”
Of course, Paul is scheduled to face the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion in a boxing match in November after they were originally expected to meet on Saturday night. Tyson dealt with health issues that prevented him from fighting but the matchup was rebooked for November instead.
While that remains his priority, Paul also made another callout — this time taking aim at a current UFC champion.
“Alex Pereira, you said you want to box, I’m the king of this,” Paul shouted. “Come over, we can make it happen. I want you Alex Pereira. I just beat a BKFC champion. I beat multiple UFC champions. He said he wants to box. Alex Pereira, after Mike Tyson, let’s make it happen.”
Before he called out Tyson and Pereira, Paul first had to dish out a whole lot of punishment to Perry, who was almost too tough for his own good. With Perry showing very little defense, Paul snapped off an overhand right early in the fight that put the bare-knuckle brawler down on the canvas, although he was quick to get back to his feet.
Still, Perry got the 10 count and he was clearly struggling to deal with the size and reach from Paul.
The second round saw more of the same from Paul as he just let Perry march forward and he was setting up his big, powerful punches. That’s when Paul uncorked another huge right hand that sat Perry down again.
Perry was wobbled even as he got back to his feet but he refused to back down as he kept coming after Paul with everything in his arsenal. Just when it looked like Paul was on his way to a knockout, Perry fired back with a big left hand of his own that got the Tampa crowd on its feet.
Even as he was getting outboxed, Perry was just marching forward in maniacal fashion as he kept coming after Paul with furious combinations. Paul was still landing the better punches but Perry managed to open a cut over his eye and he actually had the social influencer backing up
Just when it looked like Perry might finally start gaining some momentum, it was Paul who found a second wind at the start of the fourth round as he throwing every punch looking for the knockout. Paul kept launching a left jab followed by a hellacious right hand that constantly found a home on Perry’s chin.
As the fight continued, Perry almost looked out on his feet with Paul just picking and choosing his shots while looking for the finish. Paul’s lead jab could not miss and Perry had no way to stop it.
Finally with Perry dazed on his feet after absorbing another brutal series of punches, Paul stormed ahead and unloaded a barrage of shots. The final punch put Perry down again and mercifully the fight was stopped.
“I was trying to roll with the punches and hit your ass back,” Perry said to Paul after the fight was over. “You did a great job, you were way too fast for me and I couldn’t adjust. I tried but the kid hit me hard. He was too fast and he adjusted. He’s making the right moves and making the right adjustments. He was just too clean, too fast.”
Paul claimed he actually wasn’t at his best on Saturday as he dealt with an illness and a problem with his hand but he still got the job done.
“I just didn’t feel very good tonight,” Paul said. “I was sick leading up to this. My knuckle is messed up. My knuckle was basically broken before the fight. I’m a warrior, I fight through anything.”
As far as what comes next, it seems highly unlikely he’ll get the Pereira fight with the Brazilian under contract with the UFC but that’s a fact Paul had to know before ever mentioning “Poatan” in his post fight interview. While it’s tough to imagine Paul’s performance against Perry raised his stock all that much, it kept him busy as he scored another knockout win and now he awaits his showdown against Tyson in November.
“Mike, I love you, but this is my sport now,” Paul said. “It’s an honor to get in the ring with you. But I’m going to take your throne.”