On Sunday, Showtime put on a boxing mega event between former UFC champion Tyron Woodley and the pugnacious Jake Paul.
The two combatants met in the boxing ring for eight rounds, with each round comprising three minutes each. Taking place in Paul’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, inside the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the two fought a close boxing match in the eyes of many. However, Paul ultimately walked off with the nod by scoring a split-decision victory. Interestingly, the most damaging shot of the night came from Woodley in the fourth round, and it almost sat down the Youtube star-turned boxer. Before he could hit the canvas, Paul managed to bounce against the ropes and gather his composure. After the big shot, he successfully jabbed Woodley from the outside winning most of the later rounds.
Prior to the Showtime event taking place, Paul has been critical of fighter pay, and especially in the UFC. As the self-proclaimed ‘Peter Pan’ of the fight game, Paul went through with his promise of paying the rest of the fighters on his card. “The Problem Child” kept his word. On Monday, multiple outlets and social media accounts, alongside the Ohio State Athletic Commission released the pay structure following the event.
🥊 PURSES!
Haters of #JakePaul look away now. He gave away a staggering 1 MILLION USD from his huge purse to support the other fighters, including the underpaid UFC stars & women. SNUBBED Tommy Fury.#BoxingFam tell your mates about The Problem Child.#PaulWoodley #PhilRogers pic.twitter.com/T3ReHjCmWV
— Del G (@ReallyNiceDerek) August 30, 2021
It looks like Paul and Woodley had a lucrative night, and the pair of boxers raised the stakes before the event went down. Initially, the two boxers made an agreement that the loser would get a tattoo of the winner illustrating ‘I love Tyron/Jake’. After the split decision was read, Paul insisted on Woodley getting the tattoo right then and there. Although Woodley appears to be hesitant to get the ink until a rematch is officially in the works.
With Paul sharing his purse with the rest of the fighters on the card, he continues his surprising crusade against inadequate fighter pay. The numbers shown above reflect disclosed purses, but not the overall pay-per-view revenue cut, so their bottom line could expand further. Despite the Youtube star-turned-boxer recently signaling towards retirement, it seems Woodley is keen on the rematch happening sooner rather than later.
Do you have an appetite for a rematch between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley?