As an MMA fighter who has taken on Tyron Woodley, one would expect Gilbert Burns to back his fellow fighter in the former champ’s upcoming boxing fight with Jake Paul. However he thinks that the YouTuber will get the better of Tyron in this outing.
Burns used his win over Woodley to secure a title shot against Kamaru Usman. This was one of the final fights in Tyron’s UFC career, before he parted ways with the promotion and signed to fight YouTube boxer Jake Paul, in a Showtime Boxing match.
Speaking on the Believe You Me podcast with Michael Bisping, Gilbert made it clear that he was backing Jake this is boxing match. He says that the YouYuber is younger and hungrier, and after hearing stories about both men training, he feels that Jake has been putting the work in.
“I think it’s a tough fight for Woodley, to be honest with you. People say ‘Oh, but he was this,’ but (Paul) is athletic and young and hungry, and big, and put a good team behind him,” Burns said.
“Tyron is coming from a dark last four fights… Now he jumps to a whole different sport. (It seems like) a mental break, like ‘Okay I did all this wrong, let’s redo it again.’ He didn’t redo it, he just jumped into a boxing fight. I don’t think he’s mentally there…
“I know a guy who held mitts for both and the guy said ‘Man that Jake Paul, he works very hard, but (Woodley) doesn’t work as hard and he got tired'” Burns added. “The guy said Jake works three times harder and is hungry. Not a lot of technique, but works hard and keeps coming.
“I saw both guys sparring and Jake don’t care. He has his hands up, coming forward, try to finish, young, hungry. And Woodley’s more like trying to rebuild – I don’t know what he’s doing. So I’ve got Jake in that fight, to be honest.”
Gilbert Burns Wants Leon Edwards
Gilbert Burns is fresh off of a win over Stephen Thompson, following his title loss to Kamaru Usman. This got him on the right track, and now he is looking for a big fight to get back in the title picture.
He says that he is open to pretty much any opponent, but his sights are largely set on fighting Leon Edwards. He thinks Leon should have already gotten a title shot, but since that is not happening, a win over the Englishman would get him close to the title again.
“That’s the fight that I want, and to be honest it’s the toughest fight. Leon Edwards is coming from a lot of great wins, and he’s very, very tough, and that’s the fight that I want,” Burns said.
“As a fighter, he’s a great fighter. He’s doing a lot of things good, but I think there’s two things that he’s not doing his best. First off, I don’t know what his managers are doing, because those guys are not doing good work. If I represented a guy and that guy does a nine fight win streak, that guy’s fighting for the title. So first of all, his managers are doing a garbage job in my opinion. I don’t know who these guys are, but they’re not doing a good job.
“Secondly, I don’t think that Leon has the persona, like a Michael Bisping has, the guy that outspoken, talks to everybody, good charisma, fans like it. Like a Nate Diaz, like Bisping, like Faber, like a lot of guys that people want to tune into watch fight. His persona is more quiet, more relaxed,” Burns added.
https://youtu.be/ny87aDPYqx0
It will be interesting to see what direction the UFC goes, when booking the next fight for Gilbert Burns. A fight between he and Leon Edwards would be a great clash of top contenders, and would be fun to watch.
