Eddie Hearn isn’t familiar with Mike Perry, but from what he knows, it’s going to be a long night for the BKFC star when he boxes Jake Paul on July 20.
Perry is used to having doubters. The power-puncher had several memorable moments as a member of the UFC’s welterweight roster, but never saw substantial success, eventually parting ways with the promotion in 2021 with a 7-8 record. Few could have guessed that the end of his UFC run would mark the beginning of his rise in combat sports.
The world of bare-knuckle boxing called and Perry debuted with BKFC in 2022, defeating notorious Ultimate Fighter contestant Julian Lane, and then rattling off wins over Bellator standout Michael “Venom” Page, and former UFC champions Luke Rockhold, and Eddie Alvarez. In his most recent outing, Perry made short work of Thiago Alves. The win kept Perry’s momentum going and has carried him all the way into a boxing match with the infamous Paul.
Hearn was asked for his take on the fight during an appearance on The MMA Hour, and he gave Perry little chance due to Paul having a considerable size advantage.
“I’ve never seen Mike Perry fight,” Hearn said. “Isn’t he a welterweight or something?”
“Two hundred pounds? He’s got absolutely no chance,” he added.
Though Perry has competed in a number of different weight classes in BKFC, he’ll be going up to 200 pounds for his matchup with Paul. “The Problem Child” has frequently fought and beaten considerably smaller opponents, including former UFC stars Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren.
Hearn had some fun with MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani over some past predictions that went awry.
“Ariel, you told me Francis Ngannou was going to beat Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said. “Stop falling in love with your UFC fighters.
“Look, I don’t know Mike Perry, but I know apparently he’s a tough man. Obviously, he is a tough man, so I wish him all the best.”
Given their history, Hearn would have good reason to root against Paul. The two worked together in the past to promote a highly anticipated April 30 matchup between Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions fighter Amanda Serrano and Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing fighter Katie Taylor (and are continuing to do so for their rematch on Nov. 15), but Paul later accused Hearn of fixing the result of that fight—a split decision win for Taylor.
That accusation prompted Hearn to file a defamation lawsuit against Paul, which is still ongoing.
Hearn put aside that drama during a recent trip to Puerto Rico, where he had a cordial run-in with Paul ahead of the June 15 Liam Paro vs. Subriel Matias card.
“I was having dinner in the hotel that I was staying at, it’s actually where he lives on the resort,” Hearn said. “I was just having dinner and I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around and it was Jake.”
“It was alright,” he continued. “He seemed quite pleasant. Just had a little chat, I said you’re welcome to the show tomorrow, and that was it, really. … We’ve still got issues, but I’m always open for a chat.”
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