Mike Perry Doubts Jake Paul Will Fight Him in Bareknuckle

Mike Perry has doubts that Jake Paul will fight him in bareknuckle following their July 20 clash. 

Perry faces The Problem Child as a replacement for Mike Tyson, who pulled out with an inflamed ulcer. This is Perry’s second boxing fight after having been knocked out in 2015 by Kenneth McNeil. Perry enters the fight in impressive form since joining BKFC. He is 5-0 and has become the face of the promotion. Paul is the favorite, having had the superior boxing record. He has won his last three fights, beating Nate Diaz, Andre August and Ryan Bourland. It was the perfect response to the Tommy Fury loss. Coming into this fight, Perry has backed himself to stop Paul. 

Perry Reacts

“One thing I want to remind Jake over and over again is that he wouldn’t do a bare-knuckle fight. Whether he says he would or not, especially after this fight in 10-ounce gloves. He wants to bring it up like ‘boxing is this incredible sport and these hooligans are out there doing this bare-knuckle stuff’ and blah, blah, blah. I’m going to beat him with 10-ounce gloves on. He definitely won’t want to do bare-knuckle after that,” Perry said 

Perry suggested the idea of a bareknuckle fight after Paul wanted to run things back in MMA. Jake has been chasing an MMA fight since signing with the PFL. He is expected to make his debut soon, which is likely to be next year, as he searches for an opponent. He offered Nate Diaz $10 million to face him. However, the offer was not taken up. PFL’s Donn Davis increased that to $15 million. Once again, the offer was not taken up. Paul is keen on getting Perry in MMA, while Mike responded with a bareknuckle offer. Since Paul is the A-side unless Perry gets a win, then Mike has a decision to make over any potential rematch. 

Paul Responds

“I’m down, when I beat Mike Perry in boxing, [let’s do] it. We can run it in MMA. I want an MMA fight, I mean, the [PFL] smart cage is literally right there. Once I start in MMA, my wrestling background is going to come out, and I think I’ll be a very dangerous MMA fighter as well. So, Mike Perry can get it, my hands are trisexual,” Paul said

“Cap! Why not bare-knuckle? Why not box bare-knuckle? I’ll take your back, jiu-jitsu is not something that just, wrestling and jiu-jitsu that’s not something you just keep in your back pocket,” Perry stated

Nevertheless, the demand for the Paul-Perry fight is small. According to reports, the event is struggling to sell. Once Mike Tyson was announced as the opponent, there was a massive upsurge in fans talking about it. It was also big since Netflix would air a boxing fight for the first time. Tyson’s last ring performance did over a million PPV buys when he faced Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition. 120,000 fans had signed up for pre-sale tickets. However, for the Paul-Perry fight, the ticket prices have been reduced. Both fighters must put on a show to justify a rematch in MMA or bareknuckle. 

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