Youtuber turned prizefighter Jake Paul will experience his toughest encounter yet when he takes on former UFC champion Tyron Woodley at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Sunday, but has the potential to go much further in the fight game, according to trainer BJ Flores.
Social media star Paul (3-0, 3 KOs) has brought a huge profile and significant, new audience to boxing though no-one is quite sure where the journey is headed yet. But former WBC title challenger Flores believes he has a fighter on his hands and has praised the 24-year-old cruiserweight’s maturity and application.
“Tyron poses a lot of threats. He is definitely Jake’s most dangerous opponent. If you look back at history, no one is in there with killers at 3-0. Tyron is strong, explosive, quick twitch. For Jake to fight a guy like that in his fourth fight in the main event on a Showtime PPV, it’s really incredible,” said Flores.
“I don’t want Jake just going in there and blowing guys out. Of course, he is still making mistakes, it takes years and years and thousands of hours to do anything well. He has sparred with world champions and top contenders. He has taken his lumps, which is necessary. People think we take it easy on Jake, but that’s not true. He is like a shark. Once he tastes a little blood, he goes crazy.
“How far can he go? He is starting, he is getting going. His fundamentals are good. He is very sharp. We remove distractions and keep it simple, which is effective in the boxing world. Jake is a 24-year-old with the head of a 45-year-old on his shoulders. He is a very, very smart kid. He’s learned a lot in business as a young man. He is misunderstood. He’s flashy. That’s why he has me and [assistant trainer] Jacob [Chavez] to be his OGs and pull him back in.”
Main image: Amanda Westcott/Showtime.