TAMPA — From the moment ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. said Jake Paul won their first fight at the end of August, Tyron Woodley immediately went into the mode of securing a rematch. He felt he did more than enough to win because he landed the hardest shots of the fight and nearly sent Paul down. One judge did agree with his assessment. But it appeared Paul would be going in a different direction despite that and the matter of Woodley getting the agreed-upon tattoo if he lost.
Paul had agreed to face British boxer Tommy Fury this weekend. But then, the half-brother of lineal and WBC titlist, Tyson, pulled out. So when the former UFC welterweight champion heard that Paul-Fury was a done deal, he went back into the gym and started preparing for Paul because he thought Fury wouldn't make it to the finish line.
"At first, it was just a conversation about clearing up the no-knockout clause because a lot of people were saying there was a no-knockout clause, and everybody was wondering about it if the fight was rigged," Woodley told DAZN News on Wednesday after his media workout.
"He, himself, and his management team didn’t want his credibility (shot) and if he was actually winning fights and he just happened to win those fights.
"I didn’t feel the need to f—ing go in and set the record straight. So that was the original call. Then there were some scares of COVID and some scares of the new variant. It was all these different things that happened. Then finally it was like, ‘Are you ready? Are you in shape? We hear you’re supposed to be fighting’. (I was like) ‘What do you want, man? Is this motherf—er (Tommy Fury) fighting or not? If he ain’t, I’m in’. So they didn’t have to look at a second option. I was the dude."
Despite having the feeling in the pit of his stomach, Woodley still wasn't convinced Paul would accept and return to the ring in 2022. However, the fact Paul took the rematch on about two weeks notice made Woodley give the social media influencer turned boxer some props.
“I didn’t think he was going to take the fight," Woodley admitted.
"I thought he was going to walk away and be like, ‘Oh, I won and just walk away’. But he did accept the fight. I never disrespected Jake as an athlete. He’s a power puncher. I’ve already given him that respect since day one. For him taking the fight against me in a fight I thought he lost the first time and somebody that’s hungrier, angry, and got a score to settle and he wants to take that fight, you got to give him a little respect. If, when he gets knocked out and loses on Saturday, you don’t think he’s going to want to run that back?
"This is the biggest fight of the year. We took over 2021. There’s been a lot of fights with a lot of people, but nobody has gotten the buzz than this fight. This isn’t the YouTuber against the MMA fighter. This is the “I don’t f—ing like you, you don’t f—ing like me’. We’ve already seen the fight, and it sold. You saw what happened."
According to BetMGM, Woodley is a 2-1 underdog to win the sequel. None of that concerns "The Chosen One". He knows what a victory would do for him and his career in the future.
"This is a movie to me," Woodley said. "It’s just another chapter of the book. I go and win this fight, celebrate a little bit, and we run back to it and right back to training. We already got the plan, and I’ll be right back in Miami."