MMA/UFC

Jake Paul predicts ‘scared’ Tommy Fury doesn’t make it past Round 4

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Boxing in London - Artur Beterbiev v Anthony Yarde
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury | Photo by James Chance/Getty Images

Jake Paul has his prediction for how his grudge match with Tommy Fury ends.

The two influencers-turned-boxers are set to collide on Feb. 26 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, and Paul was on site to promote the event on Wednesday in what was supposed to be a press conference featuring both fighters. Fury was unavailable due to “a private and personal matter” according to George Warren of Queensbury Promotions, who was there to address Fury’s absence.

That didn’t stop Paul from taking shots at his rival.

“I’m used to his behavior at this point,” Paul said. “He’s unprofessional, he’s a flake, he’s not a serious businessman, he’s not a serious fighter and I’m going to prove that. That’s why this fight is called ‘The Truth’ because the truth’s going to come out. He’s going to have to pay for all the times he pulled out, all the business people he screwed over, it’s disrespectful. They’re some of the biggest names in boxing, some of the biggest promoters in the world, some of the most influential people in the world, one of the greatest countries in the world, and he doesn’t want to show up because of a ‘private matter.’ Cool. We all have private matters.

“When you sign up to do something and you make a commitment, that’s what it should be about and it just shows me that he’s scared because he said that he didn’t need to train for this fight. ‘Oh, I can fight Jake Paul and I don’t even have to train.’ Meanwhile, his excuse first was that he had to train extra for this fight and now apparently it’s a private matter. It’s typical Fury stuff-I love Tyson, but I’m saying the dad and Tommy, it’s typical for them.”

Heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora was on hand to mediate the press conference and he asked Paul how long he expected the fight to last. Paul is coming off of an eight-round unanimous decision win over MMA legend Anderson Silva this past October and holds knockout wins over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley and former ONE Championship champion Ben Askren.

Fury’s bout with Paul marks the first scheduled eight-rounder of the Love Island star’s boxing career.

“Three to four rounds,” Paul said. “The kid’s never been tested. He’s never been in a hard fight. His combined record of opponents is 20 wins, 200 hundred losses. He’s never been eight rounds, he’s never been in there with a dog, and I have something to prove. I’ve got two chips on my shoulder. People say I’ve got a chip on my shoulder, I’ve got two of them.

“He’s been spoon-fed his whole entire life. Piggybacked off of his brother. Got into the business because that’s what he was supposed to do. Got famous off of some reality show and now he’s just riding the wave, trying to get a paycheck so that [Fury’s wife, influencer Molly-Mae Hague] isn’t the one making all the money in the relationship. But I’m going to show him on February 26 that this is the hurt business. He’s not going to like this sport after I’m done with him.”

Despite being the A-side of the bout, Paul believes that it’s Fury who will be feeling the pressure when they finally face off. They were previously scheduled to compete on two prior occasions, with complications on Fury’s side causing those bookings to fall through both times.

Fury is perhaps best known not only as a reality TV star, but as the half brother of heavyweight boxing king Tyson Fury, which Paul believes has him behind the eight ball.

“I think there’s a ton of pressure on him,” Paul said. “He’s never been a main event. He’s never fought eight rounds. He’s never fought someone like me. He’s never done this much media, this much attention, this much trash talk. So the pressure is going to get to him. He just had a kid. This is really his only chance to become something. After this, it’s back to whatever the kid does.

“So the pressure’s on him for sure and he probably will have to stay here in Saudi and maybe he wants to, it’s really nice here. Maybe he can become Cristiano Ronaldo’s masseuse or something.”

Asked again for a prediction, Paul made it clear that he won’t need more than half the fight to put Fury away.

“I’m knocking him out, four rounds or less,” Paul said. “Bet the house on it. Put your mortgage on it.”

Fury is currently 8-0 as a pro, with four of his wins coming by way of knockout. His past three outings have all been won on points, with his latest victory being a six-round affair against Daniel Bocianski.

These recent results have left Paul confident that he’s in no danger of being on the receiving end of a punch-out.

“He couldn’t knock out Daniel Bocianski, a taxi driver, in six rounds,” Paul said. “The guy doesn’t have power. He couldn’t knock out Anthony Taylor, he couldn’t even wobble him, he couldn’t even hurt him. Anthony Taylor was 25 pounds less than the guy. The guy doesn’t have a high KO percentage.

“Normally, I build up my opponents, but this is just hard. I don’t know, I’m just telling the truth and people are going to see. I don’t know, they’re going to be astonished, I guess.”

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