TAMPA — Muhammad Ali is not just a sports icon but a cultural icon that is very hard to replicate. There's never been anyone like him since, and it's unlikely we'll see anyone reach the heights "The Greatest" achieved inside and outside the boxing ring.
That doesn't mean Jake Paul (4-0, 3 KOs) isn't going to give the old college try as he fights for the third time in 2021 on Saturday when he meets Tyron Woodley for the second time in a little less than four months.
The 24-year-old was on the Disney Channel TV series Bizaardvark for two seasons before becoming a social media sensation with over 42 million followers. Since getting into boxing in January 2020, Paul is 4-0 with three knockouts. But it's the fourth and last fight that gnaws at him, a split-decision win over Woodley at the end of August. Paul was set to face Tommy Fury this weekend. Instead, the Brit pulled out, and Woodley answered the call. You'd think the pressure would be on the former UFC champion since he lost the first bout. But, to "The Problem Child", the weight of the world is on his shoulders if he wants to obtain the goal no one has achieved up to this point.
"Because he already lost," Paul said after his open workout, which DAZN News attended. "When you start to do something, it becomes a habit. When you’re a loser, it becomes a habit. That’s been the case so far for Tyron. What does he have here? What career does he have ahead of him?
"I’m 24-years-old. I can take over the world and become the next Muhammad Ali at the rate this is going. What does he have? He has nothing. I have a much bigger story here. A much bigger presence. I’m doing something that no one has ever done before. For him to win, it doesn’t help the sport. It doesn’t help the world, and no one will really care."
The consensus among those who saw the first fight was that Paul did more than enough to win, and it shouldn't have been a split decision. Like Ali, Paul predicted the rematch wouldn't go the full eight rounds and only need about half the time to get the job done.
"I feel 110 percent confident (in stopping Woodley), Paul boldly said. "I think it happens inside of five rounds. Last fight, it was easy to tee off on him. But for some reason, I stopped punching after my combinations. This time you will see me keep punching. That’s going to get him out of there.
“I’m not going to leave it up to the judges. Last time, the last judge, the one who scored it for Woodley, who knows what fight he was looking at. He needs to see an eye doctor. I’m not leaving it up to the judges this time."