Jake Paul knocked out late stand-in opponent Mike Perry to clear the path for a fight with Mike Tyson later this year.
With his bout against ‘Iron’ Mike postponed on medical grounds for the former undisputed heavyweight champion, Paul kept the date and knocked out Perry in six rounds.
All eyes now turn to November 15 and the controversial contest with 58-year-old Tyson, which will be professionally sanctioned despite having softer rules than a typical fight – that is if it happens at all.
Speaking on his own podcast, two-time welterweight world champion Shawn Porter said he doesn’t see it going ahead.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, we’re not gonna ever see Mike Tyson get in the ring with Jake Paul.”
Porter believes that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr – who won on the same card as Paul-Perry and then had the blessing of the WBA to face Paul for ‘a championship’ – may fill the opposite corner instead, claiming the Tyson bout never made sense in the first place.
“I see Chavez Jr doing it, and maybe he goes back to Freddie [Roach] and they’re able to work some magic again … I don’t call the shots, I just don’t think Mike getting in the ring. I just don’t see it happening. It didn’t make sense, to me, even from a business standpoint … I feel like Mike and Jake, even to the lowest common denominator, it didn’t make sense.”
Tyson posted a countdown to the fight following Paul’s victory this weekend signalling it will go ahead as planned.
