3 of the best moments of Jake Paul's career

Jake Paul returns for yet another boxing match on July 20 versus Mike Perry. This may be another former UFC fighter Paul is fighting, but it is the first bare-knuckle boxer he is fighting. Perry may be the biggest star in bare-knuckle boxing right now, and it goes to show what an interesting addition to Paul's resume he will get as he takes on these major combat stars across a few different sports. It is fascinating to see the transitions from different parts in Paul's famous career, from Vine videos to a major YouTube channel, to Disney Channel acting, and finally landing in a boxing career that is getting more popular as time goes by. Paul may be hated due to his cringe personality, but his popularity cannot be denied. Some of the best moments of the boxing career of Paul will be discussed below.

1. Unanimous decision over Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, due to possessing an unorthodox striking skill in his prime and having the longest title reign in UFC history that lasted 2,457 days. Silva's dominant title reign, which started in 2006, came to an end when Chris Weidman knocked him out in the second round in July 2013 at UFC 162. There was an immediate rematch in December of that year, which had an anti-climatic ending where Silva snapped his leg on a calf kick. Silva returned to action a year later and was not the same, as he ended up losing more fights than winning. Age and injuries were the factors that caused Silva to retire from MMA and instead pursue boxing. Silva is nearly 50 and through his mid-40s, he has established himself as a solid boxer.

Around 2022, Paul's professional boxing record was 5-0, consisting of wins over a YouTuber, a basketball player, and two washed UFC fighters. People disliked Paul's confidence in his rising career, as they wanted him to face someone skilled in boxing, who is currently winning fights. Despite being about two decades older than Paul, Silva was still seen as a good opponent for Paul because he is a legend of combat sports and his current success in professional boxing. Paul respected his accomplishments, as he used to watch Silva as a kid, and said he would make a good opponent sometime. After the professional boxing opponents Paul planned to fight pulled out, a door opened for Silva and Paul to box.

Paul and Silva finally got booked to fight on Oct 29, 2022. He did not trash-talk Silva as much as previous opponents, due to his respect for Silva's legendary career. Paul ended up beating Silva by unanimous decision, in a fun, competitive fight. The two fighters both won in their way. Paul won against a combat sports sensation, with good boxing ability, as he proved he could beat pro boxers. Silva won in the sense of showing he could still compete with young boxers, despite being close to 50.

2. Knockout of Tyron Woodley

Tyron Woodley was a powerful UFC champion as he was well-rounded, possessing good wrestling and punching power. He won the welterweight title in July 2016 at UFC 201, knocking out Robbie Lawler in the first round. Woodley went on to defend against solid competitors in Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, and Darren Till, who had lots of hype back in 2018. He lost his belt in March 2019, at UFC 235, to Kamaru Usman, who would go on to have one of the most dominant welterweight title reigns. Woodley's age, reaching into the high 30s, did not help as he went on a losing streak to top contenders, later ending his UFC career in 2021.

In 2021, Paul began to pursue boxing matches with people with combat sports experience to build his skills and name value. He knocked out Ben Askren in the first round in April 2021, which got some criticism due to Askren being mostly a wrestler in his UFC days and having no striking ability. Paul then booked a boxing match in August 2021 against Woodley, who possessed good punching power despite specializing in wrestling during his UFC career. Woodley was training with legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather for his first pro boxing match, which was shaping up to be a good test for Paul. It was a solid test as Paul won a split decision in a competitive fight.

Paul was later going to get a step-up in competition against a real, undefeated pro boxer named Tommy Fury in Dec 2021. Twelve days before the fight, Fury pulled out due to a broken rib and bacterial chest infection. Woodley ended up stepping in for a rematch he was calling for a while after losing to Paul. Some thought Woodley won the last fight, including Woodley himself, and this was a good opportunity for both fighters to settle the rivalry finally. Paul ended up outboxing Woodley comfortably until he knocked him out in the sixth round. This was a great moment in Paul's career as he knocked out every opponent he faced at the time, ended a rivalry, and showed improvement in skills at the same time.

1. Knockout of Nate Robinson

Nate Robinson is a retired basketball player whose career in basketball did not end the best, as some of Paul's UFC opponents did as well. He received an opportunity to box Paul, who was coming off his first pro boxing victory, as the co-main event of a boxing PPV, Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones. Robinson showed his inexperience as he kept rushing into Paul and getting hurt with punches. Paul eventually timed a perfect counter punch to knock Robinson out cold. This was the best moment of his career as this was his first debut on a professional PPV event where he showed the world the growing skills he would take into a career still rising to this day. The biggest journey of Paul's boxing career fully began right there.