Former WBC cruiserweight champion, Tony Bellew, has expressed his doubts over whether Tommy Fury will cope with the magnitude of the occasion when he goes toe-to-toe with Jake Paul at the end of the month.
Bellew has spoken of the added pressure that Fury is under, due to his proud fighting family and thinks the 23-year-old has been thrown in at the deep end by taking such a high-profile fight.
In an interview with JOE, Bellew said:
“I can’t say it enough, the pressure is on Tommy Fury. You have heard what his brother [Tyson] has said, ‘if he loses, stay in Saudi Arabia and be a personal trainer to Cristiano Ronaldo’, I was just like ‘ooft, that is a bit heavy’, and the old fella [John] said something very similar.”
“So, I feel for Tommy Fury, I really do, because he is a kid who has been thrust into this and I am not sure, he is such a good-looking lad and in great shape, but I am not sure that he is cut out for it. I don’t think he will ever even win a British title, there is no shame in that because winning a British title is very hard, but I feel like he is being thrust into it and I am not so sure that he is up to it.”
‘The Bomber’ went on to mention that although Paul has yet to face an established boxer, despite a 6-0 professional record, he has still faced the better opposition.
“Jake Paul has got a better win on his record than anyone that Tommy Fury has ever faced. He has beaten Anderson Silva, who has beat a former world champion in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.”
“Once again, he is an MMA fighter, but he [Paul] has the signature win in his career right now, if you were to say who’s career is going better right now, you’d probably say Jake Paul.”
Fury will soon travel to Saudi Arabia to face ‘The Problem Child’ on February 26, with Paul recently claiming that Fury is worried about a lack of time to train.
The card will be available to purchase on BT Sport Box Office for UK fans and ESPN+ for those in the United States.