Tyson Fury has revealed just how confident he is in his brother, Tommy, beating Jake Paul in the form of a six-figure wager.
The current WBC Heavyweight World Champion is in Saudi to enjoy the fanfare and support Tommy as he prepares to face the American upstart, Paul, who has shaken the sport of boxing and continued to prove his genuine star power.
Paul has taken the bout to answer the call of facing someone who has exclusively trained boxing and has a professional record – something he’s so far avoided by facing a YouTuber, a basketballer, and three retired MMA stars.
‘The Gypsy King’ spoke to Seconds Out about the chances of his brother stopping Paul inside the eight-round distance.
“I know for a fact that he can punch, and I know that he’s knocked out 90% of the people that he’s ever messed with, sparred, trained with. So he’s a very, very big puncher.”
So certain of Tommy’s power is Tyson that he’s placed a six-figure bet on a knockout.
“Here’s one thing, I think it’s gonna be an inside the distance knockout, and I’ve got a heavy bet on it as well. Not in the millions, but I’ve got £100,000 to say that it’s gonna be a knockout inside the distance – and I got three-to-one. So that’s tax-free 300K – that’s not bad is it?”
It’s the latest pressure on Fury’s not-unsubstantial shoulders as he heads into the first box office main event of his career.
Family threats – often delivered jokingly – of name changes and banishment from the UK will be ringing in his ears as he makes his ring walk.
If fans and pundits have wavered in their predictions as the bout has come closer, both fighters have stayed completely sure of themselves and what they’re going to do when the first bell rings.
The prediction is the same from each man – a knockout within the first four rounds. Of course, one – or even both – will be proved wrong come Sunday night in Saudi, and that’s really where the intrigue lies.