Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has completely flip-flopped on his prediction for Jake Paul’s fight against Tommy Fury this weekend. Perhaps it was this footage shared by Fury that made him change his mind?
Tommy and Jake have been verbally sparring for years now, with two fights called off before they could make it to the ring to settle things for good.
This Sunday night, all that is going to change.
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The pair both boast unbeaten records, with Jake Paul having won his first six professional fights and Fury eight.
Whilst many have – quite rightly – pointed out that Paul has not fought a professional boxer yet, preferring to hand-pick his opponents from other sports, Fury hasn’t exactly faced the best yet.
Still he has a wealth of boxing heritage behind him with his family – big brother Tyson is the world heavyweight champion, after all – and more experience in the boxing universe.
That means that Paul has taken a big risk fighting him, which – whatever you think of him – has to be applauded.
Hearn had previously suggested that he fancied Paul to win the fight and the bookies seem to agree, making ‘The Problem Child’ a slight favourite.
However, he’s turned full 180 around on that, now believing that Fury is going to stop Paul quickly because of his experience, superior technique, and level of training.
Speaking to Boxing Social, Hearn said: “I have had a total U-turn on this fight. I thought Jake Paul was going to win this fight.
"I think Jake Paul has absolutely no chance to win this fight at all."
He added: “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 as a professional boxer, has been boxing for ten, 12 years, maybe more.
"He has been in the ring against professional fighters, he has experienced that, he's done the hard spars.
"He's an outsider in this fight... he's going to win this fight by stoppage."
That being said, Hearn knows as well as everybody else that there’s a level of unpredictability in boxing that other sports cannot match.
So, Fury will have to be at his best and execute a good game plan if he’s to win.
Hearn said: “Tommy Fury knows how to punch correctly, he knows how to fight.
"But if he dithers around and just boxes with him, to be fair anything could happen.
"But if he sticks it on him, he will stop him inside two rounds. He should come out like a train, and he will knock him out."
This Sunday, we’ll find out.
Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul – billed as ‘The Truth’ – is live on BT Sport Box Office on Sunday 26 February.
Topics: UK News, US News, Sport, Boxing, Jake Paul, Tommy Fury, Celebrity
Tom Wood