Jake Paul and opponent Tommy Fury's pay packets are set to be significantly different after the pair cross paths in the boxing ring this weekend. Here’s a clip of Tommy working the bag to prove that he’s taking things very seriously.
Fury and Paul have been chirping away at each other for what seems like years now, with two fights scheduled before now that have been cancelled.
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Well, on Sunday 26 February the pair are finally set to collide in Saudi Arabia for a fight that offers little to the purist, but has no doubt generated a lot of attention.
Ordinarily, two fighters meeting early on in their careers with not a single belt on the line wouldn’t be that much of a draw on an undercard, let alone a pay-per-view headlining event.
However, neither Jake Paul nor Tommy Fury is exactly an ordinary fighter, are they?
Paul crossed over from YouTube into the boxing world, and has set about shaking up the establishment along the way.
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As well as promoting and advocating for a better deal for fighters across the combat sports world, Paul has navigated a six fights unbeaten, though he has yet to face an actual career boxer to date.
Fury has fought against professionals, but no-one really of note so far in his eight-fight unbeaten career.
He’s also a celebrity outside the boxing ring, being not only the brother of world heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, but a star of Love Island.
There’s a lot going on to attract new eyes to the sport, at the very least.
Anyway, a lot of those new eyes are likely to contribute to the kind of pay-out that other fighters at the stage of their career that Paul and Fury are at could only dream of.
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It seems as if Paul is set to take home the lion’s share of that cash, too.
According to Sports Zion, Paul is set to bag a $3.2 million purse, should he win, as well as taking home 65 percent of the overall pay-per-view sales.
That means a payday of $8.6 million including his sponsorships, should he beat Fury.
For his British opponent, he’ll bag a $2 million purse if he emerges victorious, also grabbing 35 percent of the pay-per-view today, meaning that a victory would see him bag $4.5 million.
Again, these are the kind of figures that boxers don’t really receive until they make it right to the big-time.
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Still, Fury’s dad ‘Big’ John Fury reckons that his son has been somewhat undervalued.
He recently said: “We have probably been well underpaid, the money is one thing but if he knocks Jake spark out the world is his oyster.”
He added: “Tommy will be a very popular man come February 26, I can guarantee that.”
For both of the pair, it is likely to be the toughest fight of their career, not only in terms of opponent, but also in terms of scale, level of scrutiny and attention, and pressure to win.
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Should a draw be avoided, one will lose their unbeaten record and a large chunk of their reputation.
The victor will have answered a lot of questions about themselves, and will no doubt gain a lot of satisfaction from beating someone they genuinely dislike.
We’ll find out on Sunday, when the bell sounds and the talking stops.
Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury – billed as ‘The Truth – is available to buy on BT Sport Box Office in the UK.
Topics: Tommy Fury, Jake Paul, Boxing, Sport, Celebrity
Tom Wood