Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi has jokingly held a "moment of silence" for Tommy Fury after he was again forced out of a fight with Jake Paul.
Fury is not able to travel to America due to issues with his visa and Paul pulled the plug on the bout yesterday. The pair were due to square off back in December, which was cancelled due to an injury to the Brit's rib.
And after yet again pulling out, Malignaggi and his co-hosts on his podcast held a mocking minute's silence for Fury as a potential Paul opponent. The 8-0 boxer was viewed as Paul's first legitimate test, and is expected to be replaced today by Hasim Rahman Jr, who holds an even more impressive 12-1 record, all at heavyweight.
And Malignaggi feels that the American will prove a much tougher test, insisting that Rahman Jr has been boxing for longer. He has an extensive amateur background, as well as 13 professional bouts, which would place him ahead of Fury in a sporting sense, but his following is not even a fraction of the size.
"Interesting choice," Malignaggi said of Paul's opponent change. "This is a real boxer, I did not think Tommy Fury was a real boxer, I mean Rahman Jr's been boxing. I don't know how active he's been, but none the less, this is a guy who intended to make a career for himself in boxing even if it hasn't panned out for him yet. This is not Tommy Fury, who essentially was the same as Jake Paul despite what the British media tabloids tried to sell us on.
"Tommy Fury was supposed to be the first real boxer Jake was fighting, that was actually a false narrative. Tommy Fury was not the first real boxer, he was the exact same thing Jake Paul was; a reality TV guy who was boxing.
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"Rahman Jr, regardless of anything, still is a guy who was intending to box at one time in his career and try and make a career out of it. It's certainly very interesting."
Malignaggi has dipped his toe into the world of influencer boxing, headlining a Celebrity Boxing event against Corey B last year. But he doesn't take the movement particularly seriously, and thoroughly dominated the TikTok star during their brief exhibition bout before winning a decision.
And he has admitted that he's impressed with Paul's ability to get through adversity, as evidenced in his two bouts with former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. He was struggling to get anything of note off during their rematch last December after Fury pulled out on short notice, but managed to get through and ultimately land a vicious knockout late in the fight to go 5-0.
