Mike Tyson does not think Tommy Fury will beat rival Jake Paul when the pair meet in their grudge fight tomorrow night.
YouTube star Paul will finally get his chance to settle the scores with ex-Love Island star Fury in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, with both fighter's careers considered on the line. The 'Problem Child' is considered the marginal favourite going into the fight despite having yet to meet a professional boxer, with his wins over Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley giving him the edge with the bookmakers.
Many believe the pressure ultimately lies with Fury who will be looking to avoid embarrassment as he plans to launch quest to become world champion in the traditional boxing ranks. Legendary heavyweight Tyson, who is present in the Middle East for the contest, is unconvinced by Fury's ambitions but has stated in concrete that the fight will not go the eight-round distance.
“I’ve never seen [Tommy] Fury fight, I don’t think he’ll be able to beat Jake Paul," Tyson predicted during an interview with Boxing Social when trying to call the winner of the showdown. "Jake Paul is getting better and better as he fights, and I don’t know if they brought him over here to lose – we’re going to find out. Somebody is getting knocked out, somebody is going down. Someone’s zero has got to go.
“This fight shows the market power of Jake Paul. He’s the biggest thing in boxing right now besides the heavyweights. The heavyweights are the only thing bigger than him. The heavyweights and probably Canelo Alvarez. None of the other guys are bigger than him, not the lightweights, not even the light heavyweights.”
Tyson has previously been full of praise for Paul's career in the boxing ring, despite the influencer facing significant criticism from many traditional figures in the sport. Fury believes he is the man to end Paul's short stint in the sport, and is setting out to prove his rival is not a boxer.
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And boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has backed Fury's theory insisting there is no way the British star can't deliver the goods despite his previous doubt. “I have made a total U-turn on this fight. I thought Jake Paul was going to win this fight. I now think Jake Paul has absolutely no chance to win this fight at all," Hearn told Boxing Social. "If Tommy Fury comes out aggressively and puts it on Jake Paul, this fight will not go two rounds.
"This is a massive u-turn for me because both are limited, but Tommy Fury as limited as he is for a professional boxer has been boxing for ten or twelve years, maybe more. He’s been in the ring against professional fighters, he’s done the hard spars, he’s an outsider in this fight, but he is going to win by stoppage. He should come out like a train and he will stop him out.”
