Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will be YouTube sensation turned boxer Jake Paul’s first opponent under Paul’s newly signed Showtime Sports contract.
Former UFC interim welterweight champion and top contender in the 170-pound division Colby Covington recently weighed in on Paul’s transition into boxing and gave his prediction on who would win between Paul and Woodley.
“I think Snake Paul – what is he, a little Disney Lizzie McGuire star? That guy’s not a real fighter. That guy’s a joke,” Covington told MMA Roasted Podcast in a recent interview.
Paul is 3-0 in his professional boxing career and all of his victories have come by way of KO or TKO, but hasn’t faced a professional boxer yet. He owns victories over fellow YouTuber and boxer Ali Loui Al-Fakhri (better known as AnEsonGib), former NBA basketball player and three-time slam dunk contest champion Nate Robinson and former MMA world champion Ben Askren, the latter of which took place in April 2021.
Covington wants to see Paul face someone of higher caliber than his past opponents. Someone like Tyron Woodley.
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“I’m sick of all these fighters. All these fighters are trying to give the MMA community a bad name. Like dude, leave it to the guys that are in their prime. All these guys that are past their time, washed up fighters that are out of the UFC – I’m not saying Woodley because Woodley’s a former champion. He’s a great fighter, but Ben Askren. Come on, that guy’s never thrown a punch. He’s never thrown a punch in the UFC or any MMA fight. All he does is hug the guy and try to kiss him and yell sweet nothings in the guy’s ear,” said Covington.
“Leave the fighting and the boxing to the real fighters. And Snake Paul, the guy’s a joke. He’s a little Disney star, not a real fighter.”
Asked specifically about the Paul vs. Woodley boxing bout, Covington didn’t hesitate in giving his prediction.
“I think Woodley will,” he said.
Colby Covington says Jake Paul is a joke, predicts Tyron Woodley will win boxing match