Eddie Hearn has rowed back his prediction for Jake Paul and Tommy Fury's upcoming grudge fight, declaring that the bout is 50-50 as he rescinded his claim that the American would win.
Hearn handed both Jake and his brother Logan Paul their professional debuts before the coronavirus pandemic, and aside from co-promotional deals for Paul's fighter Amanda Serrano, the pair haven't worked together again. But the Brit was still picking the YouTube star to beat Fury, despite having considerably less boxing experience.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Hearn had claimed that Paul's mental game would be too strong for Fury, who has never headlined a major card or been tested against a live opponent such as the American. He picked Paul to win the bout, saying that he would answer critics in the process.
"All the criticism about Jake is 'You never fought a boxer' but he's about to," Hearn said. "Not a very good one, but still a boxer. I think he'll mess with Tommy mentally and by the time they get in the ring Tommy will be defeated before the fight. I think Jake will win by knockout."
But that opinion seems to have changed, with Hearn going on to tell Boxing UK in a more recent interview: “I’m quite looking forward to it. I did think that Jake Paul would win the fight, but I think I’ve changed my mind. It’s a 50/50 though which is a little bit worrying in itself.”
The Brit will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for the fight, with Paul currently finishing his camp in Dubai to acclimatise for the conditions in the Middle East. He appeared for a face-off with his rival last month in London, but skipped further media duties that night and then skipped last week's launch press conference in Riyadh.
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However, he has assured Mirror Fighting that the bout won't be called off for a third time, saying: "At the end of the day, if I cared about what people thought about me I probably wouldn't be in this position in the first place. I don't care what anybody thinks about me as long as God knows I'm doing good, my family; my missus and my baby.
"They're the opinions that I care about. At the end of the day, everyone's going to have an opinion, let them think what they're going to think. I will be there bright and early in Saudi Arabia, ready for this. There's no worries of me not showing up to this fight.
"The two previous fights that didn't go ahead were completely out of my hands, they had nothing to do with me whatsoever. What happened is what happened, but I am fit, I am conditioned, I'm here, I'm ready and I will be in Saudi don't worry about that."
