Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley full fight card preview
Sunday’s PPV brings us the much anticipated Paul vs Woodley fight, but also an actually very interesting undercard.
Youtube star Jake Paul (3-0, 3 KOs) continues his boxing career of fighting non-boxers against Tyron Woodley (19-7 MMA, former UFC champion, you know who he is).
Despite the limited relevance of the fight, it is actually pretty tough to predict. Woodley’s the most dangerous opponent Paul has faced by some margin but he is also way past his prime. Both have big right hands but managing it to land it on Nate Robinson and Ben Askren doesn’t tell us too much. Woodley could melt Paul but he’s just as likely to constantly back himself up to the ropes waiting for an opportunity that never comes. Paul hasn’t proved much but he’s a reasonably athletic guy who seems to take boxing seriously and definitely could beat Woodley at this stage of his career. The main event isn’t very interesting from a sporting standpoint but the undercard actually features some very good fights and bright prospects.
Amanda Serrano (40-1-1, 30 KOs) defends her WBC and WBO featherweight belts against WBC super-bantamweight champion Yamileth Mercado (18-2, 5 KOs). Serrano has been a world champion in seven divisions ranking from super-flyweight to super-lightweight. She is one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world. She is a technically sound and very athletic southpaw with an impressive KO rate. Mercado won the WBC super-bantamweight title in 2019 and defended it twice. She is a tough and aggressive fighter who keeps a very high pace and volume but her technique is sloppy and her defense very porous. She should make the fight fun but is just too limited for me to give her a real shot at upsetting Serrano.
Former IBF super-lightweight titlist Ivan Baranchyk (20-2, 13 KOs) also returns from his loss to José Zepeda in 2020’s fight of the year. His opponent will be southpaw prospect Montana Love (15-0-1, 7 KOs). The fight is a pretty interesting matchup for both fighters. Love is a bit better an opponent that you’d expect following a year off and a KO loss for Baranchyk. And Baranchyk is a big step up for Love in his first ten-rounder. Stylistically, Baranchyk’s pressure fighting and Love’s outfighting should make for an intriguing clash. If Baranchyk doesn’t show adverse effect from the Zepeda fight, I’m leaning towards his experience in this fight as Love hasn’t always been able to consistently keep his opponents off of him. That could cost him dearly against Baranchyk.
2016 Olympian Charles Conwell (15-0, 11 KOs) is a very good prospect at super-welterweight and will face undefeated Mexican Juan Carlos Rubio (18-0, 9 KOs). Conwell is an excellent pressure fighter who recently picked up promising wins over Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He aslo was involved in a tragic fight a Patrick Day passed away after a KO loss to Conwell. Rubio is undefeated in 18 fights but has fought mostly poor competition in Mexico. He’s a decent southpaw who likes to fight from the outside but doesn’t really have anything special. He’s not particularly quick and he’s not much of a puncher. He should provide some resistance to Conwell but Conwell might well be something special and I’d expect him to break down Rubio and stop him late.
Daniel Dubois (16-1, 15 KOs) was one of the hottest heavyweight prospects until his loss to Joe Joyce in which he sustained a broken eye socket. At 23, he is still a baby by heavyweight aging standards and has plenty of time to regroup from this set back. He scored a quick KO over Bogdan Dinu in June and returns just two months later against Joe Cusumano. Cusumano shouldn’t prove too troublesome for Dubois but he’s never been stopped and should be able to go rounds with him, which is exactly what Dubois needs.
Tommy Fury (6-0, 4 KOs), reality TV star and half brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, opens the PPV against Anthony Taylor (0-1). Fury’s past opponents had a combined record of 19-174 and clearly Taylor isn’t a step up from that. It is what it is, but considering the main event, I expected way more celebrity matches and way less relevant boxing so I cannot complain too much.
Paul vs Woodley airs on Showtime PPV on Sunday August 29th at 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT
Post a Comment