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Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry fight week has arrived, and so have the pre-fight antics.
Paul (9-1), a YouTuber turned professional boxer, will face Perry (0-1), a UFC veteran turned bareknuckle boxer, in a 200-pound, eight-round traditional boxing match at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., on July 20. The event airs on DAZN pay-per-view.
In a face-to-face pre-fight interview, “The Problem Child” sat inches from BKFC’s “King of Violence” to exchange thoughts about their upcoming battle.
It didn’t take long for the questions prompted by the moderator to produce answers that ranged from professional critiques about techniques between two fighters to a professional wrestling promo battle between two elementary school children.
“I’m too sharp, too clean, punch way too hard, power in both hands – he makes a lot of mistakes,” Paul said on “MVP Face 2 Face.” “Even on his mitt work video he posted today. … There’s nothing he can do, and I respect him. He’s very violent. It’s not taking away from Mike Perry. He can beat a lot of people, but he can’t beat me.”
Perry quickly rebutted, dismissing Paul’s results against other former MMA fighters like Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, who fought Paul when they were past their primes.
“I’m just now reaching prime,” Perry said. “I’m just now getting to where I’ve been doing my best. I learned through the UFC, which was a tough place to learn. Since learning, now I’m having the success brawling these people.”
That’s when the semi-serious critiques turned into silly banter between the two fighters as Perry stated he would take advantage of the weaknesses he’s identified in Paul’s game.
“I’m going to exploit those green tendencies in this fight, and you will break,” Perry said. “You look very flubbery. I’m hard as a f*cking rock. My sh*t is f*cking shredded.”
Paul, who said he loves his “fat, happy self,” bulked up in preparation for his heavyweight bout against Mike Tyson, which was originally set to take place on July 20 but was rescheduled for Nov. 15. Paul labeled the fight against Perry a “Mike appetizer” as he still has a focus on beating Tyson later in the year.
“Most people on the internet don’t know sh*t about boxing,” Perry said. “These people have never had a fight or they’re special needs. You know the thing about retarded people is they don’t know that they’re retarded.”
The exchanges continued throughout the interview, and the fighters admitted they enjoyed each other’s company. However, as the conversation began to revolve around a past sparring session between the two, real talk would creep back into the conversation.
“I’m excited for a battle,” Perry said. “I do like getting punched and I like punching too, so we’re going to see. Ten-ounce gloves, no headgear – I’m going to hurt you, Jake. And I’m going to laugh in your face when you try to hurt me.”
Paul and Perry could not come to an agreement on the length of their sparring session. Perry recalled six rounds taking place, while Paul was adamant it was five, and has the video evidence. Regardless, the two will get the opportunity to fight in a sanctioned, professional bout on Saturday.
“Your little baby green punches can’t even reach my brain stem, bro,” Perry said. “I’m going to dig through your eyeball and find your memories.”
“Please don’t do that,” Paul responded. “Please don’t do that, Mikey.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Paul vs. Perry.