Jake Paul is back. Nearly four months after defeating UFC legend Anderson Silva, the 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer competes in his seventh professional boxing match against Tommy Fury on Sunday in Saudi Arabia. The match will start at 2 p.m. ET and air on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
This match was originally scheduled to take place in December 2021, but Fury was forced to step down due to an injury. Paul and Fury were scheduled to square off in the ring again in August, but the fight was also canceled when Fury faced visa issues and wants able to travel from England to the United States. Paul made his pro boxing debut in 2020 by knocking out fellow YouTuber Ali Enson Gib in the first round. From there, Paul has defeated former NBA star Nate Robinson and former UFC stars Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, and he now has a 6-0 record. While some look at Paul as not a real boxer, there are others who are starting to take notice of how much he’s improved over the last three years.
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“I think he’s a decent boxer,” Tommy Fury’s half-brother and boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury told Sky Sports in January, per ESPN. “A lot of people think he’s just a YouTube person who doesn’t know how to box, but I’ve actually seen him training and I’ve actually seen his fights, and I think he’s decent. He’s like a novice professional. He’s only had six fights, so he’s exactly as good as he should be at this stage. He’s not an Olympic boxer, but then again, neither am I.”
Like Paul, Tommy Fury is undefeated in his boxing career. And also like Paul, Fury is known for his work outside the ring, starring in the British reality show Love Island. Fury has slightly more experience than Paul but comes into the match as a slight underdog.
“I’ve not seen any improvement,” Fury said. “At the end of the day, I think the people he is fighting, you can sort of do whatever you want against. He fought Tyron Woodley, he would just come forward with his hands up, kind of like a robotic action figure.”
