Jake Paul and Tommy Fury are officially set to meet on Feb. 26, the third time the two have been scheduled for a fight — once a year in 2021, 2022, and now 2023 — and finally went face-to-face this past weekend, getting into the ring for a trash talk session during the Beterbiev vs Yarde card in London.
The fight, which will take place in Saudi Arabia as an ESPN+ (U.S.) and BT Sport (U.K.) pay-per-view, is one that Tommy has to take seriously, according to his brother Tyson Fury.
“(Jake Paul)’s a decent boxer, you know. A lot of people think he’s just some YouTube person who doesn’t know how to box, but I’ve actually seen him training, I’ve actually seen his fights, and I think he’s decent,” Fury told Sky Sports.
“I think he’s, like, a novice professional — and he’s only had five or six fights, so he’s exactly as good as he should be at this stage. He’s not no Olympic boxer, but then again, neither am I, so what does that even mean?”
About Tommy, Tyson said, “He’s got to take it really seriously, he can’t just go to the ice cream parlor and not train. He’s got to really focus and have the right sparring and everything, and then he’s got to the job when he’s in there.”
Tyson has already said — even if tongue-in-cheek — that if his brother doesn’t beat Jake Paul, “he can stay in Saudi Arabia.” Their father John has said he will retire from boxing if Tommy doesn’t win the fight.
Paul (6-0, 4 KO) and Fury (8-0, 4 KO) will meet at a 185 lb catchweight in what will be the first eight-round fight of the 23-year-old Fury’s career. Paul has been scheduled for eight rounds in four of his six fights, and gone the distance in two of them.