This past Saturday on Showtime, they debuted the latest instalment of All Access featuring social media superstar Jake Paul and former UFC champion Tyron Woodley as they prepare to face off in Cleveland later this month.
Jake Paul has made a full pivot from social media and YouTube to become a boxer and in the process has created a buzz almost no one else in the sport is creating at the moment. He is currently 3-0 with three knockouts but he hasn’t fought anyone with serious striking up to this point of Tyron Woodley. His most notable win came over Ben Askren this past year when he viciously knocked him out but he never was the striker that Woodley is and this is what is currently makes the matchup so interesting.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 17: Jake Paul and Ben Askren face off in their cruiserweight bout during Triller Fight Club at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 17, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for Triller)
The aforementioned Woodley is looking for redemption of his own after hitting a roadblock in his MMA career as he sits on a four-fight losing streak and is looking for any momentum he can get. In boxing Jake Paul, Woodley hopes to gain some new fans while also giving his entire career a springboard because if he can be the first person to knock out a Paul Brother he is sure to ride that momentum all the way to the bank in a literal fashion.
With the setting for the show complete, what were some takeaways from All Access this past Saturday? They may shock you, to say the least.
Takeaways from All Access: Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley
Jake Paul Needed a Career Change
Early on in the show, Jake Paul makes a bold statement that may come off as surprising to his fans but it’s a moment that seems he drops the persona for a moment. When asked why he decided to start boxing he simply states
“getting up in the morning and saying “good morning Jake Pauler’s!” wasn’t something I wanted to do anymore…”
No jokes, no scripted material, just raw emotion as he states he was simply done with the toll social media had been putting on him.
Tyron Woodley May Not Be Taking Jake Paul Seriously
In the beginning of the show, and honestly all the way through it, it appears Woodley isn’t quite serious when discussing Jake Paul. To be honest though why would he?
Paul, being the social media darling he’s known for plays to his advantage because when you have a former UFC champion who has beaten the best of the best why would he take Paul seriously? Woodley should have enough raw talent to beat him handily but Woodley needs to take this fight seriously otherwise he will become just another moment in rise of the Cleveland native.
Jake Paul Knows Tyron Woodley is a Serious Threat
Jake Paul throughout the whole episode shows all the various training techniques he has adopted whether it be physical hurdles such as beach workouts that would make Rocky and Apollo quiver to mental workouts as well.
While ice baths have been a hot-button issue in terms of physical recovery Paul is using them for mental work. He also does visualization of the fight and winning with his whole team in Puerto Rico, so Paul is clearly leaving no stone unturned.
Tyron Woodley Still Has His Music Career
This was the most alarming thing on the show, Woodley can have outside activities as all athletes do but it does appear Tyron Woodley is looking ahead of Paul and his fighting career by spending so much time in the studio on an album.
His poor mom was so entertained by his studio work she fell asleep time and again until Woodley instituted a three snore strike system. The bottom line is it does appear that Woodley knows that at 39 he needs to start looking ahead of the fighting.
Jake Paul Has Good Intentions
One bright spot that the show ended with was Jake Paul discussing his years growing up being a bully and how he realizes how wrong it was so he started his foundation Boxing Bullies to literally fight back against bullying.
He admits that his ultimate goal is to be a role model for millennials and gen-z populations so that they can become boxing fans themselves. No matter how you spin it, he has been doing that by bringing over his millions of followers from his various social media platforms to boxing, for better or worse depending on who you ask.
In a recent episode of the Couch Warrior Podcast, host Mike welcomed Charalampos Grigoriou, who recently won a contract during season 7 of Dana White's Contender Series after knocking out Cameron Smotherman one minute into the fight. The conversation delved into Grigoriou's martial arts journey, his feelings on representing Cyprus and Greece, and future plans.
