Jake Paul has once again prolonged his farcical career as a “professional boxer” after eeking a split decision victory against former UFC Welterweight Champion, Tyron Woodley, at the Rocket Mortgage FiledHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. What many had hoped would be judgement day for the former and deliverance for fight fans offered little more than a momentary midday distraction, and the question on everyone’s lips remains: when will this circus finally end?
The younger Paul brother and notorious YouTuber faced his greatest challenge yet in a 39-year-old opponent. After all, this wasn’t some scrawny vlogger who trained in boxing for six months; this wasn’t a retired NBA player who trained in boxing for what looked like even less; and although they’re teammates, this wasn’t a retired – disturbingly out of shape – wrestler on the mend from a hip replacement surgery, either (and a wrestler whose stand-up ability was a running joke amongst the MMA community). This was Tyron Woodley. A battle-tested veteran of combat sports who, despite whatever your personal opinion may be, has earned his place in the annals of fight history.
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The opening rounds were a perfect demonstration of why Paul opted for a Cruiserweight bout – he wanted to stack the cards in his favour with a discernible size difference. Woodley had a fair amount of difficulty closing the distance, recording little to no activity on the scorecard. Many had feared he had fallen back into familiar form, painfully gunshy and without real impact.
The tide appeared to have turned in Round 4, when Woodley managed to rock Paul, quite literally pushing him against the ropes. Had the ropes been absent, however, one does tend to speculate whether the moment would’ve been scored as a knockdown, effectively tipping the scales in Woodley’s favour. But as we all know, counterfactuals hold zero weight in the face of an already materialised result.
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After eight rounds, it was clear that no amount of training camps with Floyd Mayweather would secure Tyron Woodley the W against Jake Paul. He just wasn’t proactive enough. And the stats said it all:
- Jake Paul
Jabs: 36/122 (30%)
Power: 35/85 (41%)
Total: 71/207 (34%) – Body Shots Landed: 22 - Tyron Woodley
Jabs: 11/48 (23%)
Power: 41/115 (41%)
Total: 52/163 (34%) – Body Shots Landed: 6
Scorecard: 77-75, 75-77, 78-74
Yes, Jake Paul remains undefeated as a professional boxer. But not without several asterisks.