Jake Paul has confirmed that former UFC star Mike Perry will serve as the back-up fighter for his upcoming fight against Tommy Fury.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul and Fury will finally settle their bitter feud on February 26 as the rivals meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The pair were first scheduled to fight in December 2021 but Fury pulled out of the fight due to a chest infection and broken rib. Fury was replaced by former UFC champion Tyron Woodley, who was knocked out by Paul just months after their first fight.
Concerns that Fury will pull out of the fight for a third time has led to Paul organising a replacement fighter, with bare-knuckle boxer Perry taking up that role. The 31-year-old fought 15 times in the UFC and was once a promising contender at welterweight, but left the promotion in two years after a string of losses. Perry has since crossed over to bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC, last winning a controversial decision against former Bellator champion Michael 'Venom' Page.
Who wins on February 26 - Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury? Let us know in the comments section below
Perry recently claimed Paul was avoiding a fight against him when he shared a signed contract on his behalf for a fight on February 18 against 'The Problem Child'. 'Platinum' captioned the post "Wya", which is short for "where you at", and went on to write: "I signed a contract to fight Jake Paul but he changed his mind."
"I fought a 27-3 pro boxer, I am currently 3-0 in the last two years as a boxer," he wrote. "I am a boxer and can beat any boxer/fighter at 175-185. Give me a real boxing match and I prove it, because we know they not stepping in Bare Knuckle FC with me. ASAP too." Perry will now have a chance to bank himself a big payday by fighting Paul, but will be banking on Fury not making it to the ring for the third time.
Paul and Fury had to be separated on Saturday evening as they pushed each other during a fiery face-off to promote their upcoming grudge fight. Paul was critical of his opponent's past opponents as he said after their staredown: "He's fought taxi drivers, he has no chin, it's all joke. I'm ending you February 26th and you already know it. You're going to crack under this moment, you're not built for this moment.
Fury, the brother of heavyweight champion Tyson, fired back by saying: "I was beating better people than you when I was 14 in the amateurs., whilst you were messing around on Disney channel so don't come here pretending you're about it when you're not. I am not an MMA fighter, I will school you."
