Jake Paul makes all-or-nothing proposition to Tommy Fury at final news conference
Is it all or nothing for Tommy Fury?
Fury on Thursday had declared what he intended to do to opponent Jake Paul on Saturday in Saudi Arabia when Paul asked him whether he would be willing to put his money where his mouth is.
Paul said that he would double Fury’s payday if he the British reality TV wins in Diriyah but pay him nothing if he loses, which injected unexpected drama into the final news conference before the fight.
Fury seemed to hesitate as he processed the offer but his father-trainer, John Fury, accepted the unusual proposition
“You’ve got a deal! All or nothing!” the elder Fury yelled. The fighters then shook hands in a violent manner to seal the deal.
So is Fury, the half-brother of Tyson Fury, really going to risk fighting for nothing?
Paul seemed to be serious. He said that his lawyers had already drawn up the all-or-nothing contract. Whether Fury has or will sign it was uncertain as the news conference came to an end.
One thing is certain: The fighters’ back-and-forth trash talk and novel proposition did exactly what promoters had hoped it would, which was to conclude the pre-fight hype in memorable fashion.
What did Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) say he will do to Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) in their scheduled eight-round, 185-pound showdown?
Paul, sitting on the oppositive side of a long dais to Fury, asked his rival a simple question: “Tommy, do you think this is going to be an easy fight?”
This is how Fury responded: “I can’t see you. Look me in the eyes. You’re getting put to sleep inside four rounds. Let me tell you, I’m not an old man here. I’m a fresh, young fighter. I’m going to put you away. … This is bad for you. You shouldn’t have stopped making easy money fighting celebrities, old men. I’m coming to take your head off.”
That’s when Paul put Fury on the spot by making his unusual proposition, raising the hype to a new level.
Of course, Paul’s bold move was evidence of his own confidence even though Fury is the first genuine boxer he will have faced in the ring.
Paul has fought a retired NBA player (Nate Robinson) and former mixed martial artists, never anyone with a background in the sweet science. And his two most recent victims, Tyrone Woodley and Anderson Silva, were 39 and 47, respectively, when they fought Paul. Hence Fury’s reference to “old men.”
“He keeps going on and on and on about Anderson Silva and Tyrone Woodley,” Fury said. “Tyrone Woodley was 40 years old and Anderson Silva was nearly 50, not too far from my dad’s age. And he got took the full distance. Everybody in the building who knows about boxing knows MMA fighters are not boxers. We all know that.
“I’ve absolutely took apart every single MMA fighter I’ve ever sparred with my entire life. They’re not boxers. And this guy couldn’t even deal with them. … This guy (Silva) is a great striker. Yeah, in MMA, not boxing. And he still went eight rounds with him and looked like he’d been through the trenches.
“On Sunday night you have a fresh, young 23-year-old proper, legitimate fighter. … When you’re in the opposite corner and you’re getting hit all about the head and getting blue flashes, you’re going to wake up and realize what boxing is.”
Paul’s response?
“People are going to see,” he said. “They can talk about all these things, MMA fighters, but you put Anderson Silva in with Tommy Fury and Anderson Silva knocks him out. You think that Mike Tyson … how old is he? 58? … you think Mike Tyson couldn’t beat Tommy Fury right now? The age, that’s what people are hung up on.
“That’s why I’m so excited about this fight. I can finally silence critics who have said I should fight a professional boxer, fight someone your age. I agree. I haven’t proven that. This is why it’s so big, it’s why I’m so excited.”
Fury and his team aren’t buying that. They see their man as a veritable boxer, someone who has been around the sport his entire life. They see Paul as a fraud.
John Fury captured that sentiment moments after he accepted Paul’s all-or-nothing offer.
“Let me say one thing that will wrap this all up,” he said. “If Tommy can’t beat Jake Paul, he doesn’t deserve paying.”
