Some felt Jake Paul was taking too great a risk in facing Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship champion Mike Perry, especially with a mega-lucrative November fight with Mike Tyson potentially hanging in the balance. Paul proved those fears entirely unfounded on Saturday night, battering Perry en route to three knockdowns and a sixth-round stoppage.
Paul wasted little time in proving to be the better boxer, catching Perry with a right hand less than one minute into the opening round. The fight was more or less over at that point, with Perry's biggest attribute being the ability to sustain damage.
A second knockdown came in Round 2, with another right hand sending the former UFC fighter and current BKFC superstar crashing to the canvas.
Perry continued trying to find some path to success, walking forward in an attempt to ugly it up. But Paul kept firing with a variety of shots, employing an especially devastating jab. That jab hurt Perry again late in the fight and the constant wobble in his legs had the doctor and referee giving a hard look at stoping the fight after Round 5.
Instead, Perry was allowed to continue and Round 6 signaled the end when Paul rocked Perry with a hard right and the a big flurry against the ropes for the third knockdown of the fight. Perry beat the count but when the referee instructed him to move side-to-side, Perry stumbled and nearly fell to the canvas again, forcing a stoppage at the 1:12 mark of Round 6.
"He's tough as nails, I'm sorry it took so long," Paul said of Perry after the fight. "He's tough man, respect to Mike Perry. He's the king of violence and BKFC champion."
Paul guaranteed the Tyson fight was a done deal before praising the former heavyweight champion and saying that the time had come to take Tyson's crown.
Perry then made an odd callout to former UFC middleweight champion and current light heavyweight champion -- and former two-division kickboxing champion -- Alex Pereira.
"Alex Pereira, you said you want to box," Paul said. "I'm the king of this. I'm the king of this. Come over."
Perry gave Paul a lot of credit after the fight, admitting he was hurt and suggesting speed was a big factor.
"I was trying to roll with the punches and hit your ass back," Perry said to Paul. "You did a great job, you were way too fast for me and I couldn't catch up. ... The kid hit me hard."
Elsewhere on the card, Amanda Serrano made quick work of Stevie Morgan for a second-round TKO. It was Serrano's first fight of the year after having her homecoming bout in Puerto Rico spoiled on the night of when an eye injury forced her to withdraw. Now, she turns her attention back to Katie Taylor and the much-anticipated rematch between two of the best women's fighters in the sport.
And Lucas Bahdi may have derailed the Ashton Sylve hype train with a pair of devastating punches. Sylve entered the fight with an undefeated record and dominated the action up until he was caught with a right hand that appeared to have him out on his feet. The followup punch form Bahdi put him down facefirst on the canvas for one of the best knockouts so far this year. It'll be back to the drawing board for Sylve as he looks to get back in the win column next time out.
CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with the live results and highlights below.
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | TKO | | | 50 |
| Perry | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | | | 43 |
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry -- Round 6: Paul threw a jab before dipping to the body again. Perry landed a left hand but ate a big left. Perry was hurt by the shot and Paul flurried until Perry dropped yet again. Perry beat the count but when the ref asked him to move side-to-side, he stumbled and nearly fell again, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
Official result: Jake Paul def. Mike Perry via TKO, Round 6
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry -- Round 5: The ref and doctor gave Perry a hard look before the round. Paul started with more jabs. The jab is just there all day for Paul. A big right landed for Paul before more jabs. A big right landed for Paul again and Perry was hurt and wobbled yet again. Perry's face was a bloody mess by this point. Another wild right landed for Paul. This is not competitive at all. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Paul (50-43)
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry -- Round 4: Perry landed a left hand after going southpaw and then was nearly dropped by a hard right hand, forcing him to switch back to orthodox. Paul landed a few more hard shots that seemed to have Perry a bit bothered. Paul landed a stiff jab to the body, going back to that several times. A Paul Jab had Perry on rubber legs. Paul tried to pounce and then slowed, going back to a few heavy jabs. Paul's jabs kept rattling Perry. Paul went back to the body and landed a few more jabs that had Perry trying to play rope-a-dope but that just led to Paul crushing Perry with several shots that had the ref looking ready to jump in. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Paul (40-34)
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry -- Round 3: Paul looked a bit fatigued between rounds, which would be good for Perry if it holds up. Perry landed a left hook. Paul responded with his own left hook. Perry landed another good right hand. A Paul left hook landed well. Perry landed another left hook. Paul went to the body and landed several jabs. Paul landed another right hand and a short left hook. Paul suffered a cut, while Perry was already cut and swollen. Paul landed a good uppercut. The jabs kept landing for Paul. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Paul (30-25)
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry -- Round 2: Perry kept walking forward stiff and with his head high in the air, making for an easy target. Paul landed another right hand that dropped Perry for the second time in the fight. Perry's face was looking marked up. Perry beat the count but was not steady on his feet as he continued to eat jabs. Another big right landed for Paul. Another heavy left landed for Paul but Perry landed a left hook. Perry threw Paul to the canvas in a clinch. Perry landed a good left again. Paul landed a short uppercut as Perry kept trying to march forward. Unofficial scorecard: 10-8 Paul (20-16)
Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry -- Round 1: Perry had his hands very low early as Paul bounced around the ring before digging hard to the body with a right hand. Paul then threw a hook before landing a jab. A right hand from Paul dropped Perry less than a minute into the round. Paul landed a left hook and then a hard jab. Another Paul left hook landed well and a Paul jab to the body. Perry finally landed a couple punches in the corner. Another Paul right hand connected well, as did a left hook and a right that stumbled Perry badly. Perry landed an overhand right before eating another body shot and an uppercut. Dominant stuff from Paul. Unofficial scorecard: 10-8 Paul (10-8)
Ring walks are over. Fighter introductions are over. All that's left is the punching. Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry starts in moments.
Mike Perry is making his ring walk now. Jake Paul will make his walk shortly after. We are drawing closer to the main event.
That's it for the undercard. All that's left is Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry. We likely have a bit of time to kill before we get there, however. MVP has a listed 12:53am ET start time for the main event.
Amanda Serrano vs. Stevie Morgan -- Round 2: More of the same in the opening seconds of Round 2, with Serrano unloading on Morgan who looked like she had never boxed a round in her life -- despite a 14-1 record. The referee jumped in just after 30 seconds into the round and called a halt to the bout. A fairly humiliating performance from Morgan, who spent the lead-up to the fight engaging in a lot of trash talk.
Official result: Amanda Serrano def. Stevie Morgan via TKO, Round 2
Amanda Serrano vs. Stevie Morgan -- Round 1: Serrano came out firing from the early moments of the opening round. Morgan looked stiff, slow and had no idea how to defend all the incoming fire. This is not competitive in the least through the first two-minute round of the fight.
Amanda Serrano vs. Stevie Morgan is up next. Serrano is a massive favorite as one of the best female fighters in boxing history but she needs this win to not slip out of her massive rematch with Katie Taylor in November
Official result: Lucas Bahdi def. Ashton "H2O" Sylve via KO, Round 6
Bahdi had lost almost every minute of the fight and then got lazy with his defense and presented the opening Bahdi needed and that was all Bahdi needed to hand Sylve his first loss. Two right crosses followed by a huge left hook and Sylve was out cold.
