Tommy Fury insists Jake Paul deserves respect for securing an astronomical amount of money in his fight with Mike Tyson.
Paul and Tyson fought in Arlington, Texas last Friday night with the YouTube star beating the 58-year-old former world champion in an eight-round bout. Controversy has dominated discourse around the fight ever since with many pundits, boxers and fans branding the contest as a farce.
However, Fury, who beat Paul in Saudi Arabia in February 2023, has insisted that the highly maligned bout was in fact a huge success due to its commercial power. Fury, who will be fighting UFC star Darren Till next year, also declared his congratulations to Paul and Tyson for their lucrative pay day, despite the fight providing an underwhelming spectacle.
“Business wise and commercial wise it’s unbelievable,” Fury told The Stomping Ground. “I ain’t the guy to hate on other people, if someone is making a trillion pounds I’m going to say ‘well done, mate’ and that’s what I’m going to say to Jake Paul, ‘well done’, down the lens. It was a great commercial success, both men got paid, ‘Iron Mike’ got paid, you know, no injuries happened, no one was hurt, fantastic.
“But for the fans, and everyone who thought it was going to be a fight, not including me as I never thought it would be a fight, as far as the fans, I’m sure it was a let down for them but, business wise, great.”
The younger brother of Tyson Fury, Tommy hasn’t fought since beating YouTuber KSI in October of last year. However he acknowledged the financial power that fights with social media stars yield, and stated that you have to “respect” the process.
Jake Paul lost his fight with Tommy Fury (
Image:
Getty Images)
“How can you not [respect it],” Fury added. “If someone is making that level of money and not walking out with a scratch on them, you’ve done something right mate. It’s not only me that can do it – hey, I’ve fought the two best of them (KSI and Jake Paul), a knock-out and a black eye, and he’s done the same, he’s secured the bag big time.
“It’s 15 minutes of fighting and what did they get paid? I think Jake said he got paid $40million and Tyson got paid $20m. Listen, they’ll have made good money, so whatever it is, it’s a success isn’t it?”
When prompted if Paul and Tyson’s fight was reminiscent of a “bank robbery”, Fury admitted: “100%, just without the masks.” Since Paul’s victory, much talk has centered on who will be the next opponent of ‘the Problem Child’.
Names such as Anthony Joshua’s conqueror, Daniel Dubois, and undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev have been thrown into the mix. Fury, however, isn’t convinced and believes it is all for show, unless a top contender is paid handsomely.
Fury beat KSI in October 2023
“They’ve got to be realistic with this, Jake Paul isn’t fighting Beterbiev, he ain’t fighting Daniel Dubois – he’s not fighting anyone like that,” he said. “You’ve got world champions of the sport, legitimate, unified and undisputed world champions of boxing calling out him (Paul).
“It made sense for me because I was starting out in my career and I only would’ve been fighting a journeyman anyway, but if I was an undisputed and unified champion in my division, at the top of my game, I wouldn’t give a f— about Jake Paul. So I think it’s a little but embarrassing on their part.
“I guarantee now, I’ll put everything that I have in my account on it, you’ll never see Jake Paul and Daniel Dubois in the ring together unless they write up a contract and offer Dubois £200milllion to go in the ring and not even look at him.”
