Mike Perry has named the intangible he believes gives him the edge when he faces Jake Paul tonight.
Paul had initially been scheduled to face former world champion Mike Tyson, before the former undisputed heavyweight champion pulled out after suffering a health scare on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles.
The controversial clash has been rescheduled for November 15, but Paul decided to stay active in the meantime and chose former UFC star Perry to be his opponent.
Saturday’s main event marks Perry’s first professional boxing fight in nearly a decade, but the 32-year-old has remained active inside the ring, amassing an undefeated record as one of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s biggest stars.
Speaking exclusively to Mail Sport, Perry insisted his willingness to fight sets him apart from the other MMA fighters Paul has fought.
Mike Perry will face Jake Paul in an eight-round professional boxing match on Saturday night.
The former UFC star stepped in to replace Mike Tyson after he was forced to retire.
Perry insisted he feels it is destiny that he has been called to replace Tyson on Saturday.
“I think I fight a lot more than any of those guys,” he said.
“I know what to expect when I’m in a fight. You know, I’m willing to take a punch to land a bigger one.
‘Tyron Woodley was a UFC champion, Anderson Silva was possibly past his prime when he fought Jake, and he was still able to withstand him.
‘(Silva) played a little bit. I’m not here to waste time. Jake doesn’t waste time when he’s there. He doesn’t play any games when he fights.
“Fear is a good thing to have in your pocket during a fight, because it keeps you alert and motivated to do all the moves you’re supposed to do and I’m ready to teach him more about fighting.”
Since embarking on a boxing career, Paul has quickly become one of the most polarizing figures in the sport, with detractors claiming he has hand-picked opponents from the MMA world who represent stylistically favorable matchups.
A highly anticipated fight with Tommy Fury marked his first clash with a career boxer, with the pair meeting in Saudi Arabia in February last year.
The social media star has lost just one of his first ten fights as a professional boxer.
In March, Paul scored a first-round knockout victory over Ryan Bourland in Puerto Rico.
Perry insisted that his aggressive style will allow him to perform better than Paul’s previous opponents in the MMA world.
Paul exceeded the expectations of many against the younger brother of former unified heavyweight king Tyson, but still found himself on the wrong end of a split decision.
The former Disney Channel star rebounded by defeating Nate Diaz in August of that year before racking up back-to-back stoppage wins over relatively unknown fighters to bring his professional record to 9-1.
Despite significant negative reactions and concerns about Tyson’s health, the planned showdown with Iron Mike marked arguably the biggest showdown of his career to date.
However, Perry insisted that he always felt he was destined to step in and take the opportunity to crash the party.
“I was expecting that,” Perry continued.
‘The way Jake was making videos for Mike Tyson to promote the fight, he’d say, “Mike” or “Mikey Mike” and I’d be like, “Man, he’s talking to me, bro.”
‘It makes no sense for me to fight Mike Tyson, 58, when there are so many comments saying he should fight me.
“I just finished my last fight and then I went back to the gym and started slowly preparing for a quick recovery.”
Perry immediately became a fan favorite during his time in the UFC for his aggressive style.
Since then, the 32-year-old has become one of the biggest stars in bare-knuckle boxing.
Although he left the UFC in 2021 having won just one of his last five fights in the promotion, Perry had established himself as a fan favorite for his action-packed fighting style and unique personality.
The 32-year-old’s growing star power only continued to grow in the years that followed thanks to his bare-knuckle boxing efforts and despite trading barbs with Paul during a press conference earlier this week, he admitted he holds no hard feelings towards his opponent on Saturday.
“Yeah, man, I like Jake,” he admitted. “I’m grateful for the opportunity. This is my chance and I could be the one to beat this kid.”
“No matter what anyone says, some will give me credit and some won’t, I know that. I think the MMA community will be ecstatic when I finish this job.
“I’m here to fight and that’s what I’m here for. That’s my job.”