JAKE PAUL’S coach warned Tyron Woodley is ‘in way over his head’ – and will offer Shawn Porter a ‘friendly wager’ to prove it.
Paul faces the ex-UFC welterweight in his fourth and most challenging fight to date, on Sunday, August 29 in the YouTuber’s home of Cleveland.
Former boxing champion Porter, 33, has seen Woodley training in boxing gyms before and backed the American to win.
He told DAZN: “Unlike a lot of the guys in the UFC and the MMA game Woodley really, really has worked on his hands for a number of years.
“I’ve walked into plenty of boxing gyms and just saw him in there training.
“So I mean, it’s no secret if you watch him in the UFC, you’ve seen that he’s pretty decent with his hands.
“And with that being said, if you want a prediction, I do expect Tyron Woodley to handle the business, to represent for combat sports, because the UFC is a combat sport now.
“But I find it hard to see Jake Paul beating a true fighter and I know Tyron, I think he was stopped in one of his last fights.
“And I know it’s been a little bit of time since he fought too, but I just can’t see that one, man.
“I can’t see Jake Paul getting the upper hand over Tyron Woodley.”
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Despite Porter’s prediction, Paul’s head trainer BJ Flores, a retired cruiserweight, is willing to bet otherwise.
Flores, 42, said to BoxingScene: “This is one of those situations where a lot of ‘experts’ are going to pick Tyron coming in.
“Tyron was a very polished UFC champion for a long period of time and he will be an excellent candidate for the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible.
“However, Tyron has greatly underestimated Jake and very early on it will be a biohazard. Tyron is in way over his head on August 29.
“Every single day, we are perfecting the necessary tools to take Tyron into the deep waters and drown him.
“We are ready today, tomorrow, next week. It doesn’t matter. Shawn and I can make a friendly wager to make this more interesting.”
Woodley, 39, reigned the UFC’s welterweight division from 2016-2018 before being dethroned by current champ Kamaru Usman, 33.
But he is still without a win since, losing four in a row before leaving the UFC to pursue boxing.
Paul, 24, comes into the fight 3-0 all by knockout but has so far faced limited opposition.
That includes against online rival ‘AnEsonGib’, ex-NBA star Nate Robinson, 37, and retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren, 36, a renowned grappler.
