Promoter Eddie Hearn has had his say on the upcoming fight between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury – and he believes it ends in a knockout.
Hearn could be credited for brining Jake Paul to a mainstream boxing audience. Since that first undercard fight against another YouTuber, the American superstar has moved to face more challenging opponents in the form of retired MMA fighters.
He’s now answering calls from fans to face a ‘real boxer’ – and Tommy Fury, with his experience, family name and fame, fits the bill. Although two fights between the pair have already fallen through, it looks set to be third time lucky with a date in Saudi Arabia on Sunday February 26.
Losing will be extremely damaging for either man, and Hearn told the MMA Hour that he thinks the Jake Paul train will roll on whilst Fury has to deal with defeat.
“Tommy Fury’s unbelievably limited, but he is a fighter. So all the criticism about Jake is ‘you’ve never fought a boxer.’ He’s about to. Not a very good one, but still a boxer. For Tommy Fury it’s embarrassing full stop to lose to Jake.”
“Mentally, he’ll break Tommy Fury … I think he’ll mess with Tommy mentally, and I just think by the time they get in the ring, if they do get in the ring, I think Tommy will be defeated before the fight’s even taken place. And I think will win by knockout.”
The predictions align with the bookmakers, who have Paul a slight favourite at the time of writing. Still, it does nothing to take away the confidence of Fury, who is adamant that he has tougher spars daily.
The bout is set at a catchweight of 185lb and is scheduled for eight rounds. It will be broadcast on BT Sport Box Office in the UK and ESPN+ in the US.