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4 months ago
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Mike Perry has named the intangible that he believes gives him the edge when he takes on Jake Paul this evening.
Paul had been initially scheduled to face former Mike Tyson, before the former undisputed heavyweight champion withdrew after suffering a health scare on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles.
The controversial clash has since been rescheduled for November 15, but Paul has elected to stay active in the meantime and selected former UFC star Perry to be his opponent.
Saturday's headliner marks Perry's first professional boxing bout in nearly a decade but the 32-year-old has remained active inside the ring, racking up an undefeated record as one of the biggest stars in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Speaking exclusively to Mail Sport, Perry insisted that his willingness to brawl sets him apart from the other MMA fighters Paul has fought.
Mike Perry will face Jake Paul in an eight-round professional boxing match on Saturday night
The former UFC star has stepped in to replace Mike Tyson after he was forced to withdraw
Perry insisted he feels like it is destiny that he was called to step in for Tyson on Saturday
'I think I brawl a lot harder than any of those guys.' He said.
'I know what to expect when I'm in a fight. You know, I'm willing to take a punch to land a better one.
'Tyron Woodley, he was a UFC champion, Anderson Silva was possibly a little past his punching prime when he fought Jake, and he was still able to to withstand it.
'[Silva] played around a little bit. I'm not here to mess around. Jake doesn't mess around when he's in there. He doesn't play any games when he fights.
'Fear is a good thing to have in your back pocket in a fight, because it keeps you sharp and it keeps you motivated to do all the moving that you're supposed to do and I'm ready to teach him more about fighting.'
Since embarking on a career in boxing, Paul has quickly become one of the sport's most polarising figures, with detractors claiming he has hand-picked opponents from the world of MMA that represent stylistically favourable matchups.
A highly-anticipated bout with Tommy Fury represented his first clash with a career pugilist with the pair facing off in Saudi Arabia in February of last year.
The social media star has lost just one of his first ten fights as a professional boxer
In March Paul scored a a first-round knockout win over Ryan Bourland in Puerto Rico
Perry insisted his aggressive style will see him fare better than Paul's previous opponents from the world of MMA
Paul outperformed the expectations of many against the younger brother of former unified heavyweight king Tyson, but still found himself on the wrong side of a split decision.
The former Disney Channel star rebounded by defeating Nate Diaz that August before racking up back-to-back stoppage wins over relative unknowns to take his professional record to 9-1.
Despite significant backlash and concerns over Tyson's health, the mooted clash with Iron Mike marked arguably the biggest showdown of his career to date.
However, Perry insisted that he felt he was always destined to step in and seize the opportunity to spoil the party.
'I kind of expected this.' Perry continued.
'Because the way Jake was making videos for Mike Tyson to promote the fight he would say, "Mike" or "Mikey Mike" and I was like, "man, he's talking to me, bro."
'Like, it doesn't make sense that he fights 58-year-old Mike Tyson when there's lots of comments that say he should be fighting me.
'I just kind of I finished my last fight, and then I got back into the gym and and started slowly prepping myself to get ready to For a quick turnaround.'
Perry became an immediate fan favourite during his time in the UFC for his aggressive style
The 32-year-old has since become one of the biggest stars in bare-knuckle boxing
Though he departed the UFC in 2021 having won just one of his last five fights in the promotion, Perry had enshrined himself as a fan favourite for his all-action fighting style and unique personality.
The 32-year-old's burgeoning star power has only continued to grow in the ensuing years thanks to his efforts in bare-knuckle boxing and despite trading barbs with Paul during a press conference earlier this week admitted he holds no ill will towards his opponent on Saturday.
'Yeah, man, I like Jake,' he admitted. 'I'm grateful for the opportunity. This gets to be my chance and and it could be me who gets to beat this kid.
'No matter what anyone says, some will give me credit some won't, I know that. I think the MMA community will be ecstatic when I get this job done.
'So, I'm coming to bring the fight, and that's what I'm here to do. That's my job.'
English (US)