YouTube sensation Jake Paul continued his unbeaten boxing career with a win over Tyron Woodley.
Paul help his own and then some against the former UFC champion Sunday night. The event aired live on pay-per-view from Cleveland.
Woodley was able to send Paul nearly through the ropes midway through the fight, but it was Paul who controlled the action.
The final verdict read a split decision in favor of Paul, who improved to 4-0.
“I don’t know what to say – he was a tough opponent and he’s been fighting for so many years and I’m still new to this,” said Paul, a renowned content creator who dove into the world of prizefighting just three years ago. “My legs felt weird, I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. All respect to Tyron though. He’s a Hall of Famer and put up a good fight.
“I have nothing but respect for him. There’s no hard feelings. This feels amazing to do this for my city and it’s a dream come true.”
Woodley defended his UFC welterweight title five times during his reign.
“I feel like I won the fight,” said St. Louis’ Woodley. “Jake is a great opponent. I didn’t expect him to eat my punches like that. But the fact that one judge only gave me two rounds is insane. Forget that Tommy Fury fight. Let’s run that back.
“Nobody is going to sell the PPV like we did. The ropes held him up when I hit him. I could have had that knockdown. I walked him down and landed back time and time again. I landed power punches, he missed shots all night.”
Serrano scores easy victory
In the co-featured bout, the most decorated fighter in women’s boxing history made a strong case for number one on the women’s pound-for-pound list as Amanda Serrano (41-1-1, 30 KOs) scored a dominating unanimous decision over tough Mexican warrior Yamileth Mercado (18-3, 5 KOs). The WBC/WBO Featherweight World Champion Serrano defended her titles against the super bantamweight world champion Mercado with scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91 in the ten-round bout.
The pay-per-view telecast also saw promising British heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois (17-1, 16 KOs) make his U.S. debut in style, knocking down Juiseppe Angelo Cusumano (19-4, 17 KOs) three times en-route to a first-round stoppage. Dubois landed nearly everything he threw on the overmatched Cusumano, who was finished off by a barrage of punches 2:10 into the fight.
In the second pay-per-view bout, Cleveland’s Montana Love (16-0-1, 8 KOs) scored a vicious TKO over former world champion Ivan Baranchyk (20-3, 13 KOs), thrilling the hometown fans who were on their feet for the duration of the action-packed slugfest.
In the opening bout of the PPV telecast, Tommy Fury (7-0, 4 KOs), the younger brother of heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, successfully made his U.S. debut by scoring a four-round shutout over combat sports veteran Anthony Taylor (0-2). Already a crossover star after his runner-up finish on the hit U.K. reality TV show “Love Island”, Fury made a positive first impression on the American audience inside the ring but was unable to score the knockout he craved.