Rashad Evans expects Jake Paul to put up ‘tough fight’ against Tyron Woodley
Rashad Evans gives his take on Tyron Woodley’s upcoming boxing debut against Jake Paul.
Rashad Evans is looking forward to this summer’s highly anticipated boxing match between Tyron Woodley and Jake Paul and thinks ‘T-Wood’ will have his work cut out for him on Aug. 28.
Evans, a former UFC light heavyweight champion and certified UFC Hall of Famer, can’t see Woodley losing so long as he stays focused but thinks Paul will give as good as it gets on fight night.
“This one is tough for me because my heart is with Tyron,” Evans told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview (transcript via BJPenn.com). “I really, really want Tyron to win. But I think that this Jake kid, I think he’s got a little something. I think he’s better than his brother (Logan). I think Jake is better than his brother and I think he may punch a little bit harder than his brother. He may be a little faster and things like that too.”
Spoke to Rashad Evans (@SugaRashadEvans) today. He told me he'd love to box Logan Paul, but whether that happens or not, he's definitely fighting again in MMA or boxing. Hopefully this year. Also gave me his thoughts on the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight. pic.twitter.com/5CkKDQjYjT
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 24, 2021
“So I think it may be a little bit of a tough fight because of the fact he’s going to be a little bigger than Tyron, but I can’t see Tyron losing,” he added. “I really can’t see Tyron losing. This Tyron that is being engaged right now, I think that this is the Tyron that can go out there and show that he’s the Tyron that he’s always been, that he is the five-time defending world UFC champ, and all those things. Tyron’s got power, Tyron’s got hand skills, Tyron’s got all of those things. So it’s just a matter of if Tyron doesn’t allow himself to be so caught up in the whole theatrics of it all, to get his mind away from what he needs to do inside the ring.”
Woodley will be making his professional boxing debut, with the former UFC welterweight champ looking forward to a massive payday against one of the hottest prizefighters in combat sports right now. Paul is 3-0 against unranked competition, with the YouTuber most recently dispatching of former ONE FC and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren via first-round KO at the Triller Fight Club event on April 17. Paul vs. Woodley will take place on Aug. 28 on Showtime PPV, with the location yet to be revealed.
Evans announced earlier this month that he would be coming out of retirement to also compete in boxing. The 41-year-old is targeting a high-profile matchup against either Logan Paul or Roy Jones Jr.