After Mike Tyson had to step down from his proposed boxing bout with Jake Paul due to a medical scare, "Platinum" Mike Perry slid right in.
Perry will challenge Paul at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, and live on DAZN, with stakes being high for each man.
Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) is coming off a first-round TKO of Ryan Bourland in March and doesn't want Perry ruining his chances of recording his 10th win in boxing.
Perry (0-1) had success in bare-knuckle fighting and will be looking to prove he has some serious hands for Paul to contend with in only his second boxing bout.
Here, DAZN lists the keys to victory for each boxer.
Jake Paul’s keys to victory
Assert the power jab early
Paul has five inches of reach advantage that he should readily assert early in the fight to touch Perry and keep him at bay. Establishing a power jab during the early rounds can also go ways to impeding Perry’s incessant motor and forward-fighting.
Use Perry’s aggression against him via counterpunching
Considering that aforementioned reach advantage, Perry is going to have to lunge to get inside and land power shots, in addition to tying Paul up in the clinch.
When Perry fights forward, Paul should look to precisely time counterpunches that rock “Platinum.” Again, doing so would stall Perry’s momentum and blast him with something he possibly doesn’t see coming.
Launch the right hand
When Perry is at his busiest fighting forward, Paul should look to launch his vaunted overhand right around the guard.
That very weapon has resulted in several knockouts for Paul, making the shorter, aggressive Perry the prime candidate to be on the receiving end of the emphatic power punch.
Mike Perry’s keys to victory
Close the distance early
Giving up five inches of reach means that Perry is going to have to get inside and watching his bare-knuckle exploits, one will notice that “Platinum” has a penchant for doing just that.
He’s skilled at lunging forward and locking himself in the phone booth with opponents. Whether he can do this successfully against Paul remains to be seen.
Clinch, dirty box inside
When in cramped quarters, Perry should look to assert the clinch and punch Paul to the body inside. Perry has a busy motor that should aid in this cause and those body punches could take their toll on Paul as the fight goes on.
Fight forward, stay in Paul’s face with busy activity
Although being aggressive and staying in front of Paul could make Perry susceptible to a devastating blow, he’s got to use his conditioning to be in the YouTuber/boxer’s grill all night as that gives him his best chance. That means lunging in, getting to the clinch and letting his hands go — uppercuts upstairs and liver and rib shots. Perry turning his punch volume all the way up puts him in position to attempt to pull the upset.
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