Jake Paul and Tommy Fury have both signed up for drug testing ahead of their meeting in Saudi Arabia next month.
The boxing rivals have twice agreed to fight before, but they were both cancelled due to issues on the Brit's end. However, they now seem to be set to meet on February 26 in Riyadh after agreeing to what will be their third confirmed fight which Paul says has ridded his opponent of any excuses.
And VADA have confirmed that the pair began drug testing for the bout last week after fully finalising the deal for their meeting. There had been controversy around the issue before, with the Fury family questioning if Paul would be willing to do random testing for their doomed bouts in Florida and New York.
A statement from the drug testing organisation on Twitter read: "VADA Testing welcomed Jake Paul and Tommy Fury to our program as of January 26, 2023 as they prepare for their February 26, 2023 bout."
“In the contract with Jake Paul, which had everything in it but the kitchen sink, he refused point blank to sign up with the drug-testing people VADA," John Fury said in an Instagram video before the August bout. "To me, that’s very naughty because we’re meant to be in a very high-profile fight.
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"We’re doing it, we’ve always done it. You can test a Fury every day of the week and 10 times on a Sunday - Tommy’s got nothing to hide. Can I say the same about Jake Paul?" For his part, at the time, Paul dismissed allegations he had elected not to drug test, claiming that Fury's camp made up a rumour to tarnish the build-up to the fight.
"It's people making stuff up," Paul said of accusations that he refused to be tested for the bout. "John Fury spent 11 years in prison [he was sentenced to 11 years, serving four before being released], he's a delusional old guy. He just made a rumour up and everyone believes everything they read on the internet every day which is sad because people don't actually look into it.
"But the smart ones who did look into it saw 'oh wait there is drug testing for this fight'. The Florida State Athletic Commission is drug testing Jake and Tommy multiple times and so there was never a denial on my end of doing any sort of drug test."
