Paulie Malignaggi claims Tyron Woodley is a much tougher opponent for Jake Paul than Ben Askren
Former boxing ace Paulie Malignaggi believes Tyron Woodley is a much better representative of the MMA community compared to Ben Askren. Woodley is scheduled to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a boxing match on August 28.
In a recent interaction with Helen Yee, Paulie Malignaggi claimed Tyron Woodley could save the MMA community from being treated like punching bags by YouTubers. Paul made the MMA community take notice when he knocked out Ben Askren in a boxing match earlier this year.
According to Malignaggi, Tyron Woodley will be a much tougher test for Jake Paul compared to Ben Askren. Malignaggi said that Askren disgraced the entire MMA community with his shambolic performance against Jake Paul. He hailed Woodley as a decent striker and said T-Wood has a bit more pride than Askren:
"Woodley is a better striker than Askren for sure. Woodley was a good MMA fighter but he had some striking background. So you can see Paul going from the non-fighters to the fighters that weren't great at striking. First Askren and now Woodley. I also think Woodley has a bit more pride than Askren. Askren had no self worth and no self pride. I don't even think he trained for the fight.
"He looked that bad. He looked like he had a spare tyre at the weigh in. It was actually pitiful to look at. He made a mockery of himself and a mockery of MMA fighters so I think Woodley is kind of carrying the torch now for the world of MMA."
Tyron Woodley's recent run inside the octagon is far from flattering
While he is a former UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley's recent performances inside the cage have been largely underwhelming. After losing the title to Kamaru Usman, Woodley went on a losing skid. He has lost his last four fights and failed to win a single round in any of those bouts.
Jake Paul, on the other hand, is reaching his prime years as a boxer and putting in hours of hard work to prepare for the fight. Say what you want, he has got heavy hands for sure. Knocking out Ben Askren in the manner that he did is enough to establish the legitimacy of the threat he poses.
Can Jake Paul cause another massive upset or will Tyron Woodley save the MMA community? Only time will tell.