Mike Perry says that after this weekend, Logan Paul has no choice but to fight him.
This Saturday, the elder Paul brother takes on Dillon Danis in a six-round boxing match in the co-main event of Misfits PRIME, or at least that’s the plan. Over the past few years, Danis has been an unreliable dance partner, and so in light of that fact, Perry is set to serve as the backup fighter for Paul. On Wednesday, Perry told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he’s fully prepared to do his duty, up to the very last minute if necessary.
“I’m going to get a check to just weigh in and be ready to fight,” Perry said. “All of the preparation that I put into this was as if I was fighting. Mentally, I told myself, ‘I’m going to fight. I’m going to be the one fighting,’ so that I would be ready mentally, and I’m still thinking that way.
“They told me up to the point where if he walks into the ring, answers the bell, and gets out, to say, ‘I was here, you’ve got to pay me. I made the bell.’ Fighters have done that. There was a heavyweight who did that. And it’s been so troll-y, maybe he would do something like that. I would still get in and fight. And props to Logan for that, putting it on paper. It’s in paperwork.”
This is not the first time Perry has served as the backup fight for a Paul brother. Perry was also the backup plan for the long-awaited battle between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury, where ultimately his services were not required. Perry is at least getting paid for his troubles, but he also believes that since this is the second time the Paul’s have used him as leverage, he deserves more than just a paycheck.
“The Paul brothers keep doing this with me,” Perry said. “But this one is going to give me something for my efforts. All the preparation and everything, the little check is like, man, when I do fight — all the preparation that I put into this one, but I actually get the big check and I fight like I meant it, I fight for that check. This time, I put all the hard work — my team, I have to pay these people… — and it’s already gone.
“It’s an opportunity. It’s a little bit of a break-even but it feels like it’s less. I could get even more for doing something like this and this is the second time they’ve used my name, so they’re going to have to fight me now… They’re going to have to fight me at some point. If Logan goes out there and wins, I’m his next fight.”
Perry added that nothing has been promised to him after Saturday evening and acknowledges that much of this also hinges on what happens between Paul and Danis. But if given the opportunity, he’s convinced he would show all the fans of influencer boxing the wide gulf in ability with real fighters.
“Like Roger Mayweather says, most people don’t know s*** about boxing,” Perry said. “This is just a spectacle. This is a semi-pro celebrity boxing match. The skill that is going to be out there is, I think, horrendous…
“In my opinion, I see it like this, if I have to the opportunity to step in the ring, it is to show the difference of what I’m capable of and what — I like the word green. Green is like new, fresh, fresh meat. You’re fresh meat. I’m a carnivore and I’m going to tear you apart. Rawr.”
And if he doesn’t get his chance? If Danis does follow through and actually fights Paul? Well, Perry says he didn’t make the flight overseas for nothing.
“Yes [I’m fighting] somebody,” Perry said. “If they even let me in the crowd. I might be in the back. I might be having to get ready, just in case Dillon gets out of the ring. Who knows though? Because I don’t know what the f*** is going on. They don’t have me on the open workouts. Am I even going to get tickets?… I’ll probably go crash the press conference, do something.”
Misfits PRIME takes place this Saturday at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.