Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is back on…again.
It’s not exactly a mega-fight, super-fight or anything resembling Ryan Garcia-Tank Davis or Errol Spence-Terence Crawford in size or level of importance, but Paul-Fury looks to be finally happening.
Mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani recently broke the story of the “done deal,” set for February 25. Details involving venue and a broadcast deal have yet to be released, but former ESPN boxing reporter Dan Rafael has said via Twitter that ESPN PPV may be the host.
This latest attempt to make the fight will be the third try to wrangle the two high-profile novice pros into a bout.
The first attempt to make a December 2021 date was canceled when Fury reportedly broke a rib during sparring. The bout was then rescheduled for August, but had to be canceled when Fury, who is the younger brother of WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, was denied entry into the United States by Homeland Security officers, reportedly due to familial ties with on-the-run alleged Irish cartel kingpin, Daniel Kinahan
The 26-year-old YouTuber/influencer, Paul, who has a 6-0 record as a pro, had repeatedly made it known publicly that he would travel to the UK to make sure the bout took place as a pledge to allow “no more running” from the 8-0, 23-year-old Fury.
The Jake Paul-Tommy Fury rivalry re-heated this past November at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Deji exhibition contest, when Paul taunted and heckled Fury from ringside as the UK boxer/reality show personality turned in a lackluster showing against late replacement Rolly Lambert in an exhibition matchup.
Fury was incensed by Paul’s taunting and called his rival into the ring for a confrontation. Paul responded by calling Fury outside the ring. The verbal battle ended when security held back Fury, preventing any physical confrontation from happening.
Even Fury’s father, John, got into the post-fight fray, ripping off his shirt and calling out Paul, who also goaded him from ringside.
Back in 2021, when talks between the two first started heating up, Paul set the nasty tone of the rivalry via social media video ultimatum.
“This is the last time I’m speaking about this guy if we don’t end up fighting because I’m starting to get p***** off,” Paul said.
“Tommy’s about to fumble the biggest bag of his life. Tommy, I made you famous, I gave you the biggest payday [reportedly $1million] of your life.
“I gave you the chance to shine in front of the world and now I’m offering to quadruple the biggest payday of your life that I gave you to fight you.
“This is what happens when you give someone clout and an ego, they start to think they’re better than they actually are.
“I have dozens of other fighters calling me out every week, Tommy. You’re replaceable.”
Fury, for his part, has been just as nasty, dismissing Paul’s ability and “for real” status as a boxer.
“I don’t need a training camp for him,” Fury told media back in April of last year, prior to his last sanctioned fight (a 6-round points victory over Daniel Bocianski). “It’s very unfortunate what happened to me in December, because if December had gone through, you wouldn’t be hearing his name ever again in boxing, because he is useless. He cannot fight and there is no chance in hell he beats me. I do not even need to train for him…
“This man can’t fight. That’s why he’s dodging everybody who’s a boxer, that’s why he’s fighting 60-year-old UFC fighters that nobody wants to see. He got very low pay-per-view numbers last time. If he wants the big numbers, he knows where to come, let’s get it on.”
