Jake Paul is moving on from the idea of a rematch with Tyron Woodley because Woodley failed to live up to a tattoo bet the pair made after the first fight, Paul told ESPN on Monday.
Paul and Woodley seemed to make a gentlemen’s agreement in the ring after Paul beat Woodley via split decision on Aug. 29. Woodley said he wanted a rematch, to which Paul said Woodley would have to get an “I love Jake Paul” tattoo somewhere on his body. Woodley agreed and the two shook hands.
“I’m over it,” Paul said. “I’m leaving Tyron in the past. He didn’t live up to the bet — he didn’t get the tattoo. So, the rematch just doesn’t make sense anymore.”
Paul, the polarizing YouTube star-turned-prizefighter, first brought up the tattoo bet at a July news conference in Los Angeles. Woodley seemed to agree but later said he did not. Paul said that by not getting the tattoo Woodley blew his chance at another lucrative boxing match against him.
Woodley is the former UFC welterweight champion who was making his pro boxing debut against Paul.
“If he would have gotten the tattoo right away, got 10 million views on his Instagram video, [then] everyone would have been super hyped, there would have been a ton of press around it,” Paul said. “And I would have been sort of forced to do it. I couldn’t really deny him then, because if he’s going to be a man of his word, then I have to be a man of my word. So, he f—ed up. He missed out on another big payday because of his ego.”
So, if not Woodley again, who is next for the now 4-0 Paul? There are several “options,” Paul said.
One of them is Tommy Fury, the undefeated half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Tommy Fury, a reality star in the United Kingdom, fought and won on the Paul vs. Woodley undercard against Paul’s sparring partner Anthony Taylor. The idea was to put him on the card as a possible future Paul opponent. Paul said his team is “in talks” with Fury’s side about a fight.
“He is the quote-unquote boxer,” Paul said. “He comes from a legendary bloodline. People keep saying, ‘Fight a real boxer, fight a real boxer.’ So that fight is definitely interesting to me. I don’t know if his name is big enough. We’re still looking at the pay-per-view numbers that came in from the UK.”
Paul, 24, said he’s not sure if he will fight again this year or wait until early 2022. That depends on who the next foe could be. On Saturday night, MMA legend Vitor Belfort, 44, called out Paul after Belfort defeated 58-year-old legend Evander Holyfield.
Triller Fight Club, Belfort’s promoter and Paul’s former promoter, pledged to put up $30 million for a winner-take-all match.
“It could be a possibility,” Paul said. “But honestly, Triller doesn’t have that money. There’s no possible way. It’s just a smart play on their end. It’s not really that interesting of a fight, in my opinion. Vitor, again, is old and washed up. He was a big name at one point, but not for this sort of new combat sports world. He’s a little bit too old. It’s not that exciting. He’s an easier fight than Tyron. So, I don’t know.”
Paul said a fight against 46-year-old Anderson Silva, one of the greatest champions in the history of the UFC, was also something he’d consider. Silva is 2-0 now as a pro boxer in 2021 with wins over fellow MMA legend Tito Ortiz and former boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. But Paul is worried about the narrative that he keeps fighting older, aging athletes.
“I’m probably gonna end up fighting all of these guys at some point, so we’re just seeing what makes the most sense and taking it fight by fight,” Paul said.
The most interesting opponent of the lot? Jorge Masvidal, the holder of the mythical BMF title and one of the biggest stars in the UFC. Paul and Masvidal were once friendly, but things boiled over before the Paul vs. Woodley fight because of Masvidal’s loyalty toward Woodley, a longtime friend and fellow client of First Round Management.
Masvidal, though, is under UFC contract, and Paul acknowledges it’s a long shot that the fight could happen while that is the case.
“If his dad, [UFC president] Dana [White], lets him out of his contract, that would probably be the biggest fight out of all of these that we’re talking about,” Paul said. “I would love nothing more. It’s a good test for my skill, right? He’s the ‘Gamebred’ street fighter, with his hands. I would love that — I would love that fight.”
