Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: How We Got Here…
This weekend, Jake Paul, the Bastard Son of Boxing, returns to action in Saudi Arabia as he’s set to take on Tommy Fury in a major step up in competition. The path to Paul’s first match with a real boxer hasn’t been easy and Tommy Fury’s past has been hit or miss. So I want to take some time and look at the path that led us here to the fight this weekend.
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury: The Roads We’re On
The rise of Jake Paul has been meteoric. Since his boxing debut in 2020, Paul has terrorized both the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts. After two fights against AnEnsonGib and Nate Robinson, Jake Paul has been on a tear of beating up old MMA guys.
First, he defeated Ben Askren with a first round knockout. Many fans cried out saying Askren was a wrestler who was never known for his hands. Then Paul took on former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. Woodley, too, was a wrestler, but possessed a missile of a right hand that landed in the first fight with Paul.
This is when the Tommy Fury drama began. Paul and Fury were set to fight on the eighteenth of December in 2021 before Fury withdrew for medical issues. He rematched Tyron Woodley on short notice and knocked Woodley out with that right hook that had Woodley faceplant to the mat and earned him the 2021 ESPN Ringside Knockout of the Year.
So we returned to square one and booked Tommy Fury again. This time, the United States sanctioned the Kinahan cartel of Ireland. The Kinahans owned MTK Global, Fury’s promoter, and was barred, like his brother Tyson Fury, from entering the United States. Fury, once again, pulled out of the fight. In stepped Hasim Rahman Jr. on short notice. Rahman Jr. couldn’t make weight safely and pulled out of that fight, canceling the August 2022 event all together.
Finally, Paul fought Anderson Silva, the former UFC champion and someone with a credible boxing record. Paul won that fight via unanimous decision when he sealed the deal with an eighth round knockdown of Silva.
Now we’re back to square one. This time there’s no sanctions on Tommy Fury. Both are in Saudi Arabia as of this week. It seems (knock on wood) that this fight is a go. Well, it’s the closest we’ve ever got to the fight day without shenanigans happening.
Let’s see what happens.
