Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2: Four biggest storylines to watch ahead of the rematch on Showtime PPV

The final PPV event of 2021 is set to go down in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday after a late shuffle to the card

Social media star Jake Paul and former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley are set for a Showtime pay-per-view rematch on Saturday night. The event was supposed to be headlined by Paul taking on Tommy Fury, brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, before Fury was forced to pull out of the bout. Now, Woodley has a chance to avenge his August decision loss to the former Disney Channel star.

The card feels like a particularly on-brand way for boxing to begin closing out the 2021 calendar, with the sport having experienced a boost in interest during the COVID pandemic largely driven by aging fighters, celebrities and athletes from other sports deciding to lace up the gloves. Meanwhile, the sport has also seen the rise of legitimate new stars, a renewed focus on trying to make fights with the goal of unifying championships and a handful of tremendous bouts.

But Saturday is Paul and Woodley's night. A chance to renew their rivalry and settle the score -- or possibly to set up a third fight in 2022.

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With all that in mind, let's take a look at some of the biggest storylines heading into the clash at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Jake Paul's chance to make a point

When Paul was set to face Tommy Fury, it was the social media star's chance to finally silence the critics who'd demanded he face a "real boxer." Yes, that fell through when Fury withdrew from the fight, and yes, that means another fight with someone who is not a boxer by trade. However, the rematch with Woodley provides a different kind of measuring stick, one rooted in Paul's own growth as a fighter.

Paul deserved the win in the first go-round with Woodley, even as some suggested Woodley had done enough to have his hand raised. That said, Woodley did push Paul in ways Paul had not before and even nearly scored a knockdown. If Paul is serious about his career, his camp should have been focused on patching the holes in his game that allowed a much smaller man to give him fits. Real fighters make adjustments and grow from fight to fight. This will be Paul's clearest message on whether or not he has been able to do so.

Tyron Woodley's last chance for a big win

Woodley ended his UFC career on a four-fight losing skid where he was dominated fight after fight before finally looking competitive against Vicente Luque, only to be submitted less than four minutes after the fight began. Given the opportunity at a fight on a big stage again, Woodley lost to a YouTube star. Now, just a handful of months before turning 40, Woodley has a chance to back up his big talk from before the first fight with Paul.

Opportunity doesn't always come knocking in the fight game, even for former world champions. And it rarely comes knocking a second time. It has for Woodley, however, and now he has to take advantage. If not, his legacy could suffer a big stain. It's very hard to overlook four dominant losses in the UFC Octagon and a pair of losses to "the Disney kid."

It's NBA vs. NFL as boxing's weird train keeps chugging

A three-time NBA All-Star vs. a five-time NFL Pro Bowler? Sure, why not? Over the past few years, we've seen enough weird fights in the boxing ring that Deron Williams vs. Frank Gore is hardly one to make you think twice. Even with Williams enjoying a six-inch advantage in height, this is a clash of two high-level athletes with similar boxing experience. Which is to say, no experience.

Gore vs. Williams -- along with basically everything in Paul's boxing career -- speaks to the magic of fight sports. It's pretty unlikely you've ever found yourself wondering what would happen if two random celebrities faced off in a one-on-one basketball game or on the tennis court. Wondering what would happen if they got in a fight, though? That's somehow oddly normal. What's going to happen when Williams and Gore throw hands? It may be weird, but it's certainly interesting.

A unified champion will be in action

The "crossover stars" may be the headline-grabbers coming into the event, but one of the best fighters in the sport will also be in action when Amanda Serrano takes on Miriam Gutierrez. Serrano holds the WBO, WBC and IBO world titles at featherweight, making her one of the most accomplished active female boxers in the game and by far the most accomplished boxer on the card. Serrano is returning to lightweight for the first time since 2015, a move with a very clear end goal: scoring a big fight with Katie Taylor in 2022.

Taylor holds the WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA titles at lightweight and a showdown between two unified champions would be one of the most intriguing fights in years on the women's side of boxing. Gutierrez seems to have been chosen for a very clear reason, having only one loss in her career, a decision defeat to Taylor in November 2020. If Serrano can get the job done against Gutierrez, and do it more impressively than Taylor, there's no reason we couldn't see Serrano vs. Taylor next year.