Jake Paul got a sixth-round TKO victory over Mike Perry, on Saturday in Tampa, Florida, in an eight-round cruiserweight boxing match.
“He’s tough as nails … but I just hit too hard and he took a lot of damage,” Paul said. “Mike Tyson, you’re next. … It’s anyone, anytime, anyplace.”
With the win against Mike who fought bare-knuckled, Paul maintained his Nov. 15 showdown with the 58-year-old Mike Tyson that was originally scheduled for that night.
Perry, 32, is the latest former UFC fighter to fall to Paul. Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) also defeated Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz and Ben Askren. He fights at 175 pounds in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
“You did a great job, you were way too fast for me and I couldn’t adjust,” Perry said. ” … He’s not sitting there waiting to be hit like me.”
Perry’s lone previous boxing match was a fourth-round KO loss to journeyman Kenneth McNeil in May 2015. Perry made his UFC debut one year later. His MMA record is 14-8.
Saturday’s win was Paul’s second fight of 2024. He scored a first-round KO of journeyman Ryan Bourland in March in Puerto Rico.
“In two years I will be the cruiserweight champion of the f—ing world,” Paul said. “I’m way sharper, cleaner. I think he hit me with like one shot tonight. … It’s back to the drawing board and I’m going to just keep getting better.”