CLEVELAND — YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul defeated former UFC Champion Tyron Woodley before a sold-out crowd of 16,000 fans at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Sunday.
“I don't know what to say – he was a tough opponent, and he's been fighting for so many years and I'm still new to this,” said Paul, a famous content creator from Westlake who started prizefighting just three years ago. “My legs felt weird. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me. All respect to Tyron, though. He's a Hall-of-Famer and put up a good fight. I have nothing but respect for him. There’s no hard feelings. This feels amazing to do this for my city and it's a dream come true.”
Paul out-landed Woodley 71-52 in total punches, while Woodley out-landed Paul in power punches 41-35.
"He hit me with one shot the whole fight, and it was a good shot,” said Paul. “It was one real good shot. I don't know what that one judge saw. But l still got the victory. For me to come here and go eight rounds in my fourth fight, who does that? I'm doing things that have never been done.”
The former UFC Welterweight Champion Woodley said he believed he did enough to get the win in his professional boxing debut.
“I feel like I won the fight,” said Woodley. “Jake is a great opponent. I didn't expect him to eat my punches like that. But the fact that one judge only gave me two rounds is insane. Forget that Tommy Fury fight. Let's run that back. Nobody is going to sell the PPV like we did. The ropes held him up when I hit him. I could have had that knockdown. I walked him down and landed back time and time again. I landed power punches, he missed shots all night.”
The fight will air on SHOWTIME on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 10:10 ET.
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