Tommy Fury was scheduled for the biggest fight of his career on December 18 against YouTube sensation Jake Paul. However, the Brit had to withdraw from the contest due to a broken rib and a bacterial chest infection.
Paul instead took on UFC star Tyron Woodley in a rematch. The 24-year-old won their first fight by split decision, which left Woodley believing that he could still land the crucial knockout blow.
Going into the sixth round of the rematch, neither fighter had done enough to win the fight. Paul desperately wanted to find a spectacular moment to capture the headlines.
Suddenly, he did. The 24-year-old landed an absolute rocket of a right hand right on the jaw of his opponent. The former UFC world champion was out before he hit the ground. Woodley collapsed to the canvas.
Read: Jake Paul steroid accusations: Why are so many UFC alumni talking about it?
In December, injury prevented Fury from setting foot in the ring with the American. But the Brit is desperate to get his hands on Paul, and after a captivating press conference, the desire for the bout is still rife amongst fans.
A report from the Daily Mail claimed that Paul’s bout with Woodley received just 65,000 pay-per-view buys. However, the ‘Problem Child’ has since rubbished those reports, although he did add that it wasn’t his “best business night”.
Who does the YouTuber want next?
Following Paul’s destructive knockout over Woodley, he has shown zero indication of wanting to get in the ring with Tommy Fury. Instead, he has focused his attention on MMA legends, including Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.
Read: Jorge Masvidal posts fiery response after Jake Paul fight comments
During a recent appearance on his brother Logan’s podcast, ImPaulsive, the Cleveland native called out ‘Gamebred’ in what would be an absolute mega-fight.
He said: “Masvidal is like, ‘I only fight the best people or I fight for money, and you’re neither one of those’. So I’ve got an offer for you right now: a $5m guarantee, plus a percentage of pay-per-views.
“That’s the most you would have ever made in a fight, ever. So now you can’t say, ‘I either fight the best, or I fight for money’. Let’s make it happen.”
UFC president Dana White has since confirmed in an interview with The FIGHT with Teddy Atlas that he will not allow any of his contracted fighters to take on Paul. That almost certainly rules out a clash with Masvidal for now. But Tommy Fury believes he should be the ‘chosen one’.
Tommy Fury goes in on Jake Paul
In a scathing rant, Fury annihilated Paul’s performance against Woodley – and the fight in general. In addition, the 22-year-old claims that he is more than ready to go toe-to-toe with the social media icon.
Speaking on The MMA Hour, he said: “Anybody for a second who thinks that this is all fake and bulls**t, they can think again, because why on earth would I pull out of this fight? I was getting paid handsomely, and I am used to fighting real fighters.
“For the rest of my career, I’m only going to go and fight killers when I get to that stage, so why would I be pulling out of this? It doesn’t make any sense.
“And for everyone who watched the first six rounds and didn’t just watch the knockout can understand, there’s no way that I would’ve pulled out of this fight because that was probably the worst six rounds of boxing that I’ve ever watched.
“Honestly, it was appalling. And even the commentators, I don’t know what round it was, said, ‘This is getting hard to watch now.’ And they were joking between themselves during the fight, saying, ‘Oh, I wonder who won that round? Well, nobody. Nobody threw a punch. Nobody.’
“It looked like they were trying to shadowbox in front of each other. No one wanted to commit. No one wanted to do anything. That fight was just about one punch. But as far as the six rounds go, that was the worst six rounds I’ve seen. There’s no head movement. There’s no thought there. He’s a raw novice.”
We don’t know if Tommy Fury will get the fight or not. But the war of words has gone beyond just playful pre-fight banter.
He added: “It has become personal. It’s unfinished business.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty
