Jake Paul has hinted that his grudge fight with Tommy Fury has been delayed due to the latter's unborn baby's due date this month.
Paul and Fury have finally agreed to stage a boxing showdown at a third attempt to settle their bitter rivalry after months of verbal barbs on social media. A fight had been set to happen on two previous occasions, with Fury first having to pull out with a broken rib before being unable to travel to the United States for their scheduled clash last August.
Fresh reports indicate the pair are set to do battle on February 25 after reaching a new agreement on terms for a showdown, but an official announcement has yet to be made. And Paul has posted a cryptic tweet following the delay, which reads: "Hold your horses. The man’s having a baby."
Fury's high-profile partner, Molly-Mae Hague, who he met during his climb to fame on reality television show Love Island, is pregnant with his first child and is expecting in January. It was understood initially that the news would have no impact on negotiations, with Fury keen to finally settle the scores with Paul.
However, it appears the baby's imminent birth could delay the announcement of the fight and it remains unclear if it could lead to the event being pushed back. Despite the bitter nature of the pair's feud, which has intensified since their first face-to-face meeting in 2021, Fury has insisted that he is eager to accept the clash for financial reasons, which could be down to a new child being on the way.
"If you want to slap millions of pounds in front of my face to fight Jake Paul, why am I not going to do that? I've got a family to feed now any day - the reason I've taken the Jake Paul fight is it's financially good," Fury told Rob Moore on the Disruptors podcast. "There is [a part of me that wants to shut him up] but he doesn't get underneath my skin like that.
"He can't get underneath my skin because I know what he's doing. He's a whizz on social media, he's made a living off being an idiot, arrogant and calling people out. All I see with Jake Paul is a business and if you want me to beat a man who can't fight and throw millions of pounds in my face, not a problem, sign me up and that's purely what this is.
"I've described it all the time as being on Route 66 and I need to stop off in my campervan, fill it up and get back on the road. I am on a straight and narrow road to world titles. But you want me to take a slight detour for an awful lot of fuel, pick that up and then jump back on the road?"
