TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul stopped former UFC fighter Mike Perry at 1:12 of the sixth round of a cruiserweight fight on Saturday night to improve his record to 10-1 with seven knockouts.
Perry, who has a 6-1 record in bare-knuckle fighting, was making his professional boxing debut.
Paul knocked Perry down in each of the first two rounds and nearly stopped him with a flurry of punches in the fourth round. He sent Perry to the canvas a third time in the sixth round with an overhand right. Perry got back to his feet before the 10 count, but he was not steady on his feet and the referee waved the fight off.
The 27-year-old Paul was originally scheduled to face former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, but the fight was postponed after Tyson, 57, had a stomach ulcer flareup that forced him to stop training. That fight has been rescheduled for Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The card also featured Amanda Serrano, the unified women’s featherweight champion, who improved to 47-2-1 with a second-round TKO over Stevie Morgan (14-2-1) in a super lightweight bout.
She will face super lightweight champion Katie Taylor (23-1) on the Nov. 15 card in a rematch of their 2022 fight that Taylor won by split decision.
Also, on the undercard former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (54-6-1) beat former UFC fighter Uriah Hall (1-1) by unanimous decision in his first fight since December 18. 2021.
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