Jake Paul's coach BJ Flores believes that Tommy Fury, unlike his brother Tyson, will "never have a real fight" after pulling out of two bouts with his fighter.
Flores has been coaching Paul since his professional debut, having initially come into the team as a training partner while Shane Mosley. And he has watched the Ohio native grow from a YouTube boxer to a 5-0 fighter with major pay-per-view events centred around his bouts.
And the last two of those events have been put in jeopardy by Fury, who has now pulled out of a December and August fight date first due to injury and then travel issues. It has incensed Flores, who has had to change up his methodical camps so that Paul could prepare for very different opponents in Tyron Woodley and Hasim Rahman Jr.
Flores believes that Fury is perceived as a better fighter than he is because his brother is the world heavyweight champion. There has never been a question of respect from Paul's team towards Tyson, who is widely believed to be one of the best fighters of his era. But Tommy at just 8-0 with very few memorable wins won't get the same treatment.
"People tend to forget Tommy Fury isn’t Tyson Fury," Flores noted in an interview with Metro.co.uk. "How could two brothers be so different? Tyson is fearless, hard-working, extremely talented and will go down in history as one of the best big men to ever live, while Tommy wants the general public to assume he is a high level boxer without putting in the work."
After just two professional fights at the age of just 20, Fury opted to take a summer break from boxing in order to participate in the 2019 season of Love Island. He arrived in the villa early, meeting Molly-Mae Hague and forming a relationship that has stood the test of time to this day.
But he has struggled to shake his reality TV star image, particularly after facing less-than-stellar journeyman opposition after returning to the UK. Flores, having joined up with a YouTube star in his own right, has no issues with Fury's choices, but doesn't believe he deserves credit as an athlete.
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"There is nothing wrong with being well known for being involved with a TV reality show or your girlfriend," Flores continued. "There is, however, something wrong with being a complete waste of time, begging Jake’s manager’s legal team to give Tommy his highest payday, only to back out on two separate times.
"Tommy will never fight a real fight. Will we close the book on Tommy? Tommy Fury is the little boy who cried 'wolf'. We are all familiar with how that story ends."
Paul will now face Rahman Jr, a 12-1 heavyweight, at Madison Square Garden in New York after Fury's latest issue. He has expressed interest in once again arranging a match-up with the Brit, but after two massive cancellations it's unlikely that his team will be keen to go back to that match-up.
