Jake Paul faced off with Derek Chisora in an impromptu staredown after Tommy Fury refused to show up for their press conference in Saudi Arabia.
Fury, 23, was supposed to be in Riyadh on Wednesday evening for a press conference with YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul ahead of their grudge fight on February 26. Paul revealed last week that Love Island star Fury wouldn't be flying over from the UK for the event, claiming his opponent requested more time to train for their fight.
Chisora was in attendance for the press conference to quiz Paul and the other promotions onstage and he filled in for Fury at the end of the event for an unexpected staredown with Paul. Most Valuable Promotions boss Nakisa Bidarian kept a close eye as Paul and Chisora had a light-hearted face-off before posing for pictures from the press,
Fury's promoter, George Warren, spoke on his behalf at the press conference and gave a different reason for his absence. "Everything we are hearing from camp is that he is looking excellent in the gym. He sends his apologies for not being here in person, he is dealing with a private and personal matter at the moment. Make no mistake, he will be here in due time to publicise and promote the event. We are planning to bring him in around 10 days before the event," Warren said.
Chisora was quick to stir the pot after Warren revealed the reason for Fury's absence, as the British heavyweight then asked Paul if his opponent's absence had left him frustrated. "I'm used to his behaviour at this point, he's unprofessional and he's a flake. He's not a serious businessman or a serious fighter and I'm going to prove that, Paul replied.
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"It's why this fight is called, 'The Truth', because the truth is going to come out. He's going to have to pay for all of the times he's pulled out. All the business people he screwed over, it's disrespectful. There's some of the biggest names in boxing, the biggest promoters and most influential people in the world. One of the greatest countries in the world and he doesn't want to show up because of a 'private matter'. We all have private matters.
"When you sign up to do something, you make a commitment, that's what it should be about. It just shows me he's scared because he said he didn't need to train for this fight. Meanwhile, his first excuse was that he needed to train extra, but now it's a private matter. I love Tyson but it's typical from the dad [John] and Tommy."
