An upcoming bout which has caught the attention of boxing fans and detractors alike is the clash between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley.
The bout sees Jake Paul come in as 4/9 favourite against former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Woodley, with the match scheduled for 29 August.
Discussing the fight on Betfred’s Boxing Show, Anthony ‘Million Dolla’ Crolla and Dom McGuinness observed that although Woodley has more combat sports experience, Paul has surprised many with his rigorous training, with Doncaster heavyweight Dave Allen joking that the YouTuber ‘trains harder than me’.
“He’s going in against Tyron Woodley, a former UFC fighter, so he’s had a few bouts now, but he’s still yet to fight a boxer,” McGuinness remarked. “As well as he trains and as serious as he’s taken it, and we can’t take that away from him, is this going to be a proper fight?”
Crolla responded: “I’m not going to pretend that I’m very knowledgeable about the UFC, but what I do know is that Tyrone Woodley was not known for his stand-up striking. I think they’ve been very smart with the opponent they’ve picked – a very well respected name, and a former world champion, but he isn’t known for his boxing.
“I do think his boxing will certainly be a lot better than Ben Askren. He’s working with Pedro Diaz, who for me is an unbelievable Cuban coach, he’s worked with Miguel Cotto and so many good fighters.”
Making his own appearance on the show, Allen spoke to McGuinness about his career focus and his eagerness to return to the ring after his 18 months hiatus following a 10th round loss to Olympic bronze medalist David Price.
“I need to win to keep things going, if I’m going to box again for the rest of the year, once or twice, I’ve got to win. I’m a draw today, I’m a draw tomorrow, I’m a draw on Friday – if I lose on Friday, by Saturday I’m forgotten about,” he said.
Sharing his views on some other prospective heavyweights, he added: “I take Danieul DuBois very seriously. I think he’s going to be heavyweight champion of the world in four or five years time, he’s the main man. He’s going to be fantastic.
He continued: “Tommy Fury is a serious boxer, and he’s going to make a few quid, fair play to him. Jake Paul and Woodley – I hope Woodley wins, but I take Jake Paul seriously as a boxer, and if he beats Woodley I’ll take him very seriously.”
Source – Betfred YouTube Channel
