Matthew Mathias

Sports Editor

mcm5909@psu.edu

Jake Paul, Youtuber and internet influencer turned boxer, faced off against former mixed martial arts fighter Tyron Woodley in Cleveland, Ohio for a pay per view event that would wind up being the second most purchased ticket of its kind throughout 2021. Paul’s older brother, Logan holds the record of the year as he matched up against 44-year-old boxing legend Floyd “Money” Mayweather for an exhibition match held in June this past summer. 

Paul was given the victory after all eight rounds of the match had been played and scored in his favor in a split decision by the judges. However, this fight wasn’t an easy one for Paul. Woodley, competing in his pro boxing debut at age 39, held his own as he went the distance with Paul, who was unproven on his ability to compete in a long and drawn-out fight. Woodley even landed various heavy blows on his opponent, who was caught off guard and impressed by his performance.

Paul has been hoping to earn some respect from the boxing community over the past several months, yet this hard nosed group has been resilient to budge. Many criticize Paul for his choice in fighters, going after opponents who had never professionally boxed or are past their physical primes. With Paul being only 24 years old, critics want to see him facing off against players of his age and talent before truly giving him the credit he so desperately wants.

The bout had many celebrities and stars talking, as one such superstar, Lebron James, tweeted about the event from his home in Los Angeles. James stated in a tweet from his twitter account, @KingJames, on August 30th, “CLEVELAND IS JUMPING!! Should have flew back to the crib.” Jake Paul, an Ohio native, claimed to be emotional when told by the media that Lebron had tweeted about the event as Paul said, “Man that’s crazy, I’m getting teary eyed. That’s sick. I was in these stands twelve years ago screaming ‘Lebron, Lebron, Lebron’ trying to get him to notice me, so for him to tweet about me, wow that’s crazy man. . . I’ve been really hard on myself and I’ve accomplished so much over the last 4 fights, no one’s doing this, you know?” Obviously, Paul was starstruck with being mentioned by one of his biggest idols and he wishes to meet up with him someday, if fortune follows his career.

Immediately after the match concluded, Woodley announced through the stadium microphone that he felt like he won the fight and wished to schedule a rematch. However, Paul said that he was done with Woodley and that he had his chance. He did say he would consider it if Woodley went through with their pre-match bet saying the loser would get a tattoo saying, “I love insert winner’s name here.”

It sounds like we could potentially see a rematch if Woodley swallows his pride and tattoos the name of his opponent, Jake Paul, onto his body. Paul claimed in a post-match interview that he and his team would be taking a break from boxing for a while as he seeks to figure out what’s next for the 4-0 boxer.