JAKE PAUL said he beat Mike Perry with a broken knuckle – but reassured fans that his bout with Mike Tyson is still on.
Paul and Tyson were due to meet in front of over 70,000 in Texas in a controversial clash scrutinised for the 30-year age gap.
But Tyson, 58, was forced to pull out amid a health precaution with the fight rescheduled to November 15.
Paul, 27, instead chose to fight on with the July 20 date over 1,000 miles away in Florida.
He chose ex-UFC star-turned-bare-knuckle-boxing champion Mike Perry, 32, as his interim opponent.
Paul made no mistake with his biggest payday on the line, flooring Perry three times before a sixth-round stoppage.
And after the fight the YouTuber-turned-boxer claimed he entered the bout with an injured knuckle.
“I didn’t feel very good tonight,” Paul said. “I was sick leading up to this, my knuckle is messed up it’s swollen like a big ball.
“I’ll post it on my Instagram, follow me on Instagram. I’m going to be giving away $10,000 tonight @jakepaul.
“You can see my knuckle was basically broken before the fight.”
But Paul insisted it was not further delay his fight with Tyson.
“No, did it delay this fight? No.” Paul said. “I’m a warrior, man. I’ll fight through anything. We put it all on the line.”
Paul improved to 10-1 as a boxer and sent an ominous warning to Tyson ahead of their rescheduled bout.
Mike Tyson! You’re next big boy,” Paul said. “Sign the contract! November 15th on Netflix, I’m excited for that one.
“I’m going to go home and prepare for that.”
Tyson – who was advised to withdraw after suffering an ulcer flare up – retired in 2005 following two dismal defeats.
But he came back in 2020 for an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr that ended in an eight-round draw.
Tyson posted a video of himself watching Paul’s fight and teased that the “Countdown Begins.”
“Mike Tyson is training, he’s back, looking crazier than ever,” Paul added.
“November 15th on Netflix, I’m gonna get another KO and prove everyone wrong once again.”
