Eddie Hearn has told Tommy Fury it would be "terrible" if he can't beat Jake Paul ahead of their potential clash in August.
Paul and Fury were supposed to meet last December but the fight was cancelled when Fury suffered a broken rib and bacterial infection. Their meeting is now being targeted for August 13, according to Matchroom Boss Hearn.
Hearn took aim at Paul's skill level by calling him an "average boxer" but insists that Fury, who is unbeaten in eight professional fights. is the same level as the YouTube star. The promoter thinks both men have the same chance of winning the fight because of their inexperience.
"It's a 50-50 fight, It's a funny one because it's terrible for Tommy Fury if he can't beat Jake Paul, but I don't think he can beat Jake Paul," Hearn told JOE. "Jake Paul didn't like the fact that I said he was average, but they are both average.
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"I don't mean that disrespectfully and by the way, they are a lot of average boxers. Average is not bad and it's not good. So I said to Jake Paul 'I actually think that's a compliment for you, I'm not saying you're a terrible boxer I'm just saying you're not very good'.
"The same advice to Tommy Fury so in that case, it's a 50-50 fight in that respect. I don't know if they'll get there, but [August 13] is the date that I heard so we'll see."
Hearn previously challenged Paul to fight any of his 400 fighters under the Matchroom banner, including former Olympian Cheavon Clarke. Hearn promoted Paul's professional debut against AnEsonGib in 2020 as the YouTube star has gone on to fight former UFC stars Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
Fury pushed himself closer to a rescheduled fight with Paul by outpointing Daniel Bocianski on the undercard of his brother Tyson's heavyweight world title fight against Dillian Whyte in April. Paul has spent six months out of the ring since his knockout win against Woodley.
Paul has been linked with several opponents for his next fight and MMA analyst Chael Sonnen recently explained why he thinks the American is the most feared man in boxing. "Where are we getting Fury from?" Sonnen asked on his YouTube channel.
"Is it just a case of there's nobody else willing to do it? That's how I feel; Jake Paul is the most feared man in boxing. There is nobody in boxing with a meaningful record or any kind of name that has called him out. They're hoping that their phone doesn't ring because they don't want that."
