CLEVELAND – [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] continues to do big things in the combat sports world.
The YouTube star and now professional boxer defeated former UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] in a split decision at Sunday’s pay-per-view event. The scores read 77-75, 75-77, and 78-74, with two judges in favor of Paul. The fight was contested at cruiserweight and it was booked for eight three-minute rounds.
The Paul vs. Woodley boxing event took place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The card streamed live on pay-per-view at 7 p.m. ET on Showtime Sports.
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The fight had tons of buzz and anticipation in the arena. There was no touch of gloves and then it was on.
In the first three rounds, Paul had control of the fight. He stayed light on his feet and used his jab to move around Woodley. Every now and then he would put together combinations and land on the former UFC champion.
In the fourth, the fight changed and things got competitive. Woodley seemed more active and ramped up the pressure. Woodley connected with a big shot that seemed to rock Paul halfway through the round. From there, Woodley chased Paul in search of more shots.
.@TWooodley tags Paul in round 4 😳#PaulWoodley pic.twitter.com/8j9Gnh9jJD
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) August 30, 2021
The fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds had more action than the first four with both fighters landing more shots. They were competitive, but Paul seemed to be the busier fighter, landing more often and cleaner than Woodley. Paul was effectively using his movement to stay away from Woodley’s power shots, while landing good shots of his own.
In the final round, Woodley came out with more urgency. He pressured Paul and threw harder and more, but was unable to land any significant shots. Paul had little output and was mainly on the back foot for the majority of the time.
#PaulWoodley official scorecards.
Do you agree with the judges? pic.twitter.com/EI9hGMbpIS
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) August 30, 2021
Paul entered the bout coming off a first-round knockout win over Woodley’s teammate and former ONE Championship and Bellator champion Ben Askren back in April. The Youtube star remains undefeated in his professional career. He now has a record of 4-0. Woodley is the second UFC fighter Paul defeats in boxing.
Meanwhile, Woodley completed his first professional boxing bout. The 39-year-old competed in MMA prior to this step in boxing, fighting most notably in the UFC and Strikeforce. Woodley is 0-4 in his past for MMA bouts. His last MMA bout was in March – a first-round submission loss to Vicente Luque, which ended his run with the UFC.
Full fight results below:
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Jake Paul def. Tyron Woodley via split decision (77-75, 75-77, 78-74)
- Amanda Serrano def. Yamileth Mercado via unanimous decision (97-93, 98-92, 99-91) – to defend unified women’s featherweight titles
- Daniel Dubois def. Joe Cusumano via TKO – Round 1, 2:10
- Montana Love def. Ivan Baranchyk via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 3, 3:00
- Tommy Fury def. Anthony Taylor via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
- Charles Conwell def. Juan Carlos Rubio via TKO – Round 3, 2:49
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