Jake Paul is set to step back into the ring on Friday night, squaring off against one of his most formidable opponents yet, former undisputed heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson.
Since his professional debut in 2020, Paul has made a name for himself in the boxing world, defeating several big names. With a record of 10-1, the 27 year old has triumphed over Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz and Ben Askren. Now he is
Although he turned pro four years ago, ‘The Problem Child’ had already cut his teeth in the amateur ranks. Two years prior to his first professional bout, Paul faced off against KSI’s brother (Deji Olatunji) on the undercard of KSI vs Logan Paul.
In his white-collar debut, Paul tipped the scales at 181.9lb, while Deji weighed in at 174.4lb. Despite the weight disparity, KSI’s younger sibling put up a strong fight before being stopped in the fifth round.
Paul then took a two-year hiatus from the ring to train for his professional debut against social media sensation AnEsonGib, reports the Mirror.
Their cruiserweight clash saw Paul weigh in at 191.8lb, with Gib slightly lighter at 188lb. It took just over two minutes for ‘The Problem Child’ to secure his first professional victory.
Since then, Paul’s fighting weight has typically ranged between 186 and 193lbs.
That was until he faced Tommy Fury last year. Paul entered the ring against Tyson Fury’s younger sibling weighing a career-low 184lb.
In a closely contested match, ‘TNT’ narrowly won via split decision. When ‘The Problem Child’ made his comeback to the ring after this loss, he weighed in at 185lb for his bout with Diaz.
His highest weigh-in was 199.8lb for his fight against Ryan Bourland. However, his forthcoming face-off with Tyson will be a heavyweight contest.
Friday’s showdown will see the two go head-to-head in a professional bout consisting of eight two-minute rounds – a departure from the standard three-minute rounds. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has already sanctioned the fight.
Both fighters will don 14-ounce gloves, which are heavier than the standard boxing gloves.
Paul and Tyson were initially set to face off in July, but Tyson withdrew from the bout due to an ulcer flare-up. Prior to the original fight date, Paul tipped the scales at 230 pounds, a significant increase from his usual weight.
In a May episode of his podcast, ‘The Problem Child’ expressed surprise at his weight gain, saying: “It’s just like shocking to people that that is how much I weigh.”
He further explained, “I think just because normally I’m fighting at 200 and walking around at 210. It’s weird to me that I’m weighing 230. But since this was noodling after my last fight I’m just getting to eat as much as possible and it turns out my body carries this weight super well.”
Paul discussed his growth and training strategy, stating, “I’m only growing. I think I’ll get up to 240 and probably cut down so I’m like way faster. But if I’m training for this camp – and camp hasn’t started – but if I’m training in this camp at 240 and then I cut down to 220 it’s basically like I had a 20lbs weight vest on for the whole entire camp. So my muscles are going to be so much stronger and that speed will come through.”
This time, however, the 27 year old has signalled his plans to come in slightly lighter for Friday’s bout. Chatting with the Hollywood Reporter about his current weight, Paul disclosed he’s tipping the scales at approximately 216 pounds and anticipates being around 220 pounds on fight day.
He confided too that he anticipates his forthcoming adversary will be heavier. “Tyson will probably be 235”, he admitted.
