Tommy Fury won’t even give himself a proverbial pat on the back “when” he knocks out Jake Paul on Sunday.
From Fury’s perspective, he is supposed to pummel Paul, who has just six professional fights, all against non-boxers, and no amateur background. Fury, the younger half-brother of WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, doesn’t have an extensive amateur background, either, but he comes from a family of fighters and is dismissive of Paul’s chances of beating him in their eight-round, 185-pound fight in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
“Come that night, when I knock him out, it’s not really gonna mean a whole heap to me,” Fury told BoxingScene.com. “You know, I mean, I’ve knocked out a YouTuber. Everybody expects me to do that anyway. You know, it’s not like I’ve knocked out a reigning, defending world champion and I’m the new world champion. I’m fighting Jake Paul. He’s got six fights. He’s coming off a YouTuber’s background. I am expected to win this fight. So, I’m not gonna be jumping for joy when I knock him out because I know I was gonna do this all along.”
The 26-year-old Paul, of Westlake, Ohio, is 6-0, including four knockouts, since he made his pro debut in January 2020. His record has been built, however, against a fellow YouTuber (Ali Eson Gib), a retired NBA point guard (Nate Robinson), a retired UFC fighter (Ben Askren) and two former UFC champions (Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva).
The 23-year-old Fury (8-0, 4 KOs), of Manchester, England, is the first active professional boxer Paul will have fought. Paul has argued, though, that Brazil’s Silva, even at 47 years old, was a more formidable boxer when they fought October 29 than Fury, whose opponents have entered the ring with a combined record of 24-176-5.
Paul dropped Silva early in the eighth round and won their Showtime-Pay-Per-View main event by unanimous decision. The judges scored Paul a 78-73, 78-73, 77-74 winner at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Paul is nearly a 2-1 favorite, according to DraftKings sportsbook, ahead of a spectacle that’ll headline pay-per-view shows on BT Sport Box Office in the United Kingdom (£19.99) and ESPN+ in the United States ($49.99).
“Yeah, he’s the master of events, a lot of hype,” Fury said. “But all along I’ve known, ever since me and him got coupled together, that there’s only one outcome. And I know on February 26th you’ll see the outcome in real life. That’s it.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.