Jake Paul will indeed fight the face of bare-knuckle boxing.
Promotion officials announced Tuesday that Paul meets BKFC superstar and former UFC fighter Mike Perry in an eight-round boxing match on July 20 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., with the fight being contested at cruiserweight with the fighters using 10-ounce gloves. The event streams live on DAZN PPV.
Happy Punch first reported the matchup on Twitter.
Paul and Mike Tyson were originally slated to meet on that date before a medical situation forced Tyson out of the scheduled date. The matchup is now expected to take place on Nov. 15 instead.
Additionally, Amanda Serrano — who is scheduled to meet Katie Taylor in a highly anticipated rematch on the Paul vs. Tyson card — faces Stevie Morgan in the co-main event.
MVP prospect Ashton “H2O” Sylve was slated to face Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield at the event, but an undisclosed injury has forced Schofield out of the bout, a person with knowledge of the promotion’s plans told MMA Fighting. Sylve is expected to remain on the card against an opponent to be named later.
Since losing his first pro boxing bout to Tommy Fury in February 2023, Paul picked up a unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz this past August, along with a pair of first-round knockout victories over Andre August and Ryan Bourland. The Paul vs. MMA saga has seen the YouTube star earn two victories over former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, a win over former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, along with a knockout win over former Bellator and ONE champ Ben Askren.
Perry has won all six of his post-UFC bouts, including five in the BKFC ring, along with a hybrid rules decision win over Michael Seals at Triller’s Triad Combat event in November 2021. “Platinum” has BKFC victories against the likes of Luke Rockhold, Michael Page, Eddie Alvarez, and Thiago Alves.
Tickets for the fight card go on sale Wednesday.
