Jake Paul opens as heavy favorite over Mike Perry in July boxing match

Jake Paul has never been an underdog during his professional boxing career and he keeps that streak alive for his next scheduled bout against BKFC superstar Mike Perry.

The social influencer-turned-combat sports enthusiast clashes with Perry on July 20 in Tampa, Fla., which is the same date Paul was supposed to face heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson. Unfortunately, Tyson faced a medical issue that forced him to delay the fight against Paul until Nov. 15.

Despite the Tyson fight looming, Paul opted to stay busy and book a matchup against arguably one of his toughest opponents to date. Perry remains undefeated as a bare-knuckle boxer with wins over names like Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez and Michael “Venom” Page.

The former UFC fighter also has some past boxing experience including a win in a hybrid rules matchup against 27-3 pro boxer Michael Seals back in 2021. Still, Perry enters the fight as the underdog based on the opening odds for the fight from Sportsbetting.ag.

Mike Perry: +190

Jake Paul: -240

Based on those odds, a $100 bet on Perry would return $190, but it would take a $240 bet to win back $100 gambling on Paul. Perry is being given a 34 percent chance to win, while Paul is favored at 70 percent.

Since leaving the UFC in 2021, Perry has become one of the biggest names in all of combat sports while reigning as the “King of Violence” in BKFC. Most recently, Perry needed just 60 seconds to dismantle former BKFC champion and one-time UFC title challenger Thiago Alves to boost his bare-knuckle record to 5-0 overall.

Meanwhile, Paul comes in with a 9-1 record in boxing with notable wins over ex-UFC stars Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz, and Anderson Silva with his lone loss coming in a split decision to Tommy Fury back in 2023.

Paul vs. Perry headlines a Most Valuable Promotions card from Amalie Arena in Tampa on July 20. The card airs live on DAZN pay-per-view.