It could very well be a purist’s nightmare and a reality in the sport of boxing, as influencer turned professional boxer Jake Paul will obtain a WBC cruiserweight world ranking if he beats Tommy Fury on February 26th in Saudi Arabia, available in the United States on ESPN pay-per-view.
Amassing a record 6-0, and with the WBC confirming that Paul will move into their top 40 rankings if he defeats Tommy Fury on February 26.
“Jake has dedication and respect to the sport and The WBC will not tolerate discrimination against anyone, he deserves the opportunities that any other boxer has,” explaining the decision on the WBC’s website. “[Paul] demonstrated punching power and improved skills as well as a solid chin, Tommy Fury represents a clear challenge to Paul in a battle of two undefeated professional boxers.”
To further add validity to this, Tommy Fury is reported to being having the best camp of his life, per his father and trainer John Fury.
John Fury said the following speaking to the Daily Mail. “They’ve all been good, class, young, hungry men. But, bring it. He’s been handling them very well. There have been a few visits to the hospital for the sparring partners but that’s boxing. He’s been doing them some damage. We’ve had a hairline fracture in the jaw and we’ve had a few knockdowns. We’ve had a few cold knockouts from Tommy. He’s been destroying his sparring partners. You can ask them. He knows who they are. They know whether Tommy is the real deal or not.”
Paul who is slight betting favorite heading into this bout has the endorsement of hall-of-fame boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, who favors Paul.
“Jake Paul is learning how to behave like a fighter. I don’t know that Tommy Fury completely knows that yet. I’m gonna put it in context. Tommy Fury is 8-0, and he’s got four knockouts. The combined records of all of his eight opponents is 24 wins, 176 losses, and five draws,” Teddy Atlas said when talking about Paul vs Fury on his popular podcast The Fight With Teddy Atlas. “[Paul] says to Tommy Fury, ‘You’ve fought nothing but taxi drivers…I would add something to that: They’re very bad taxi drivers. They don’t even have a license.”
With a world title ranking on the line, the stakes now have gotten much bigger for this bout.