Rival promoter Eddie Hearn may have just leaked that Jake Paul and Tommy Fury's long awaited fight is back on.
Paul promotes his own bouts through his Most Valuable Promotions banner, while Fury is signed with Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions. But Hearn recently worked with Paul to put together Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano's undisputed lightweight title fight, and has remained in talks with their team over a second bout.
And he has now claimed that he he's been told Paul will face Fury in a rescheduling of their originally planned December date. The YouTube star was supposed to meet his British rival in Florida towards the end of last year, but the Love Island star pulled out with a broken rib.
“I don’t represent them, but I hear that fight [Paul vs Fury] is happening August 13, so you might see it,” Hearn told talkSPORT, admitting that he wants to see the American stopped for the first time in his career. “Both are very limited, but as long as it’s a competitive fight, it doesn’t really matter.
“ Jake Paul is a strange one, but I like what he’s doing for boxing. I did Amanda Serrano vs Katie Taylor with him and it was great fun, it was a big success, he’s putting the work in and he’s not terrible. But it will be a pleasant day when someone chins him.”
Fury's promoter Frank Warren has a notoriously bad relationship with Hearn and Matchroom, and likely won't be pleased that he has leaked the fight news. And after a seemingly rosey promotional run for Taylor vs Serrano, things appear to have soured between Hearn and Paul's side as well.
The Irishwoman is expected to have a homecoming fight at Croke Park in Dublin this September. But despite being a monster hit at the box office in New York, it appears that a rematch with Serrano, who Paul manages alongside ex-UFC CFO Nakisa Bidarian, won't be happening.
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With regards to Paul vs Fury, there had been a number of other options for the social media star, who last fought on December 18 against ex-UFC champion Tyron Woodley. He was flirting with the idea of facing legendary MMA fighter Anderson Silva, who is 3-1 as a boxer, as well as a possible mega-fight with former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Mirror Fighting understands that the initial plan for Paul's return to the ring was a meeting with Nate Diaz, but the UFC have refused to allow their fighter to compete and finish out his contract. Instead, they could pivot to Fury, with other big names tough to come by at this late stage.
Fury was last out on his brother Tyson's world heavyweight title undercard, defeating Daniel Bocianski at Wembley Stadium. He brutalised the Polish fighter from start to finish before violently calling out Paul, and in recent days he has teased major fight news in Instagram posts.