Frank Gore vs. Deron Williams will serve as an undercard to Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley. Here’s what to watch for in both.
Former All-Stars and celebrities will take center stage Saturday night on Showtime for a four-fight pay-per-view card in Tampa. The two most intriguing: Deron Williams vs. Frank Gore and the co-main event, Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley. The former because it pits two pro athletes from other sports against each other and the latter because it’s a much-anticipated rematch of an August bout which Paul won by split decision.
Here’s what to watch for in both:
The Undercard: Frank Gore vs. Deron Williams
Frank “The Inconvenient Truth” Gore:
- 18 career NFL seasons (5x Pro Bowler)
- Career earnings: $63 million
- Estimated net worth: $30 million
- Key deals: Xenith football helmet, Athlete Speakers:
Deron “D-Will” Williams
- 12 NBA seasons (3x All-Star)
- Career Earnings: $157 million
- Estimated net worth: $65 million
- Key endorsements: Nike, Red Bull, Dove, Beats By Dre
Both Williams and Gore were once near the top of their respective sports, but now both men are approaching 40 years old.
Gore, 38, says he isn’t done playing and only took 2021 off from football for family reasons. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Gore mentioned having multiple offers from NFL teams before the season, but he simply missed seeing his son play throughout high school.
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“I had three opportunities to play this year, but once I didn’t go to training camp and saw all the time I missed with my kids, I kind of looked at it differently,” he said. “I missed a lot of my oldest son’s [Frank Gore Jr.] games and the only time I saw him play was when I signed with Miami.”
At 37, Williams has been retired from the NBA since 2017, after a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He says he grew up enjoying combat sports and even has a couple state wrestling titles in high school.
“I’ve always been drawn to combat sports. I grew up wrestling,” Williams said. “Wrestled all the way up to high school and I’ve always been a big boxing fan, big MMA fan, and part-owner of Fortis MMA in Dallas, Texas, and I’ve done a lot of training there over the last six years.”
Both athletes enjoy the challenge that comes with learning how to fight at a near-professional level and have been dabbling in combat sports for years. Williams says he’s been training at his MMA gym, while Gore has been sparring since he was drafted in 2005.
“I’ve always loved boxing,” Gore said. “I was doing it because I was saving my legs because I played running back. I was doing it for cardio and I just fell in love with how hard it was and I’m very competitive. When I first went in, I felt like I couldn’t even fight. I just kept doing it and kept getting better and better.”
The Main Event: Tyron Woodley vs. Jake Paul II
Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley
- Record: 19-7-1 (Former UFC welterweight champion)
- Instagram followers: 2.1 million
- Twitter followers: 385k
- Estimated Net worth: $6 million
- Key Endorsements: Affliction Clothing, Dobb Tires, Sporturf, Metabolic Meals, Mascot Agency
- Guaranteed fight purse: $1 million; 30% of final PPV revenue
Jake “The Problem Child” Paul
- Instagram followers: 17.8 million
- Twitter followers: 4 million
- YouTube subscribers: 20.4 million
- Estimated net worth: $30 million ($10-20 million annually from Youtube)
- Key endorsements: DraftKings, Anti Fund Investment Fund, RNBO Clothing, Sprayground
- Guaranteed fight purse: $1.5 million; 70% of final PPV revenue
After his first fight with Tyron Woodley on Aug. 29, Jake Paul updated his professional status to “retired boxer.” That retirement was short-lived as he booked another fight shortly after that tweet.
As recently as last month, Paul’s comeback opponent was going to be Tommy Fury, the British boxer and brother of undisputed heavyweight champion boxer Tyson Fury. Fury had to back out of the bout due to medical complications. Having fought and defeated Woodley, a second bout was agreed on in the ring but not made as hastily as that agreement. Woodley claims Paul was ducking him and hinted at the idea that his contract for the initial fight included a “no-knockout clause.” He brought this up when he was asked about not moving to finish Paul after Woodley rocked Paul with a punch. But the second bout is here and both fighters are doing their best to drum up more hype for it.
Paul has become one of the wealthiest internet influencers out there. His brash and bold style has led to more notoriety. Notoriety impacts visibility and visibility impacts engagement. With over 40 million followers across social media and YouTube, as well as guaranteed engagements in the millions with any content he produces, Paul is certainly an easy way to bring casual eyes — and dollars — to whatever platform he’s on.
Woodley, who has been the main event at MMA events, acknowledges that. According to him, his purse for the first fight exceeded anything he’s made in MMA, and that is a direct result of Paul being his opponent. Woodley has earned over $500,00 multiple times in his career, so he understands what a big payout looks like.
Fury will miss out on a lucrative payday. Woodley steps in and earns a guaranteed $1 million before factoring in the final totals from the pay-per-view numbers. Paul reportedly earned about $2.8 million in the first fight with Woodley. And while his guaranteed purse starts at $1.5 million, it stands to reason that he’ll meet and exceed that $2.8 million after taking home a majority of the PPV money.
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