CLEVELAND – Tommy Fury publicly delivered an expected message to Jake Paul on Wednesday night.
Tyson Fury’s half-brother promised to annihilate Anthony Taylor in their six-round cruiserweight fight on the Paul-Tyron Woodley undercard Sunday night. If both favored fighters win their cruiserweight bouts at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Tommy Fury wants to challenge Paul next.
“First of all, what’s going on, Cleveland? Yeah!,” Tommy Fury said after an open workout at Cleveland Public Square. “Big fight Saturday – Sunday is actually the day. It’s a little bit different in the UK. It’s always Saturday. It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for the welcome. I’m excited to perform to you guys on Sunday night. I’m gonna take this man’s head clean off. He’s not even important enough to be in the ring and do a bit of buds. So, forget him. I’m here. I’m gonna put on a show and I’m coming for your boy. I’m gonna nail him, too!”
The younger, inexperienced Fury has been placed on this Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard for the express purpose of building up a bout between the British boxer with the famous surname and Paul.
If he can get past the 39-year-old Woodley, a former UFC welterweight champ, Paul (3-0, 3 KOs), of nearby Westlake, Ohio, will need to start testing himself against actual boxers if he is to remain true to his proclaimed mission of becoming a legitimate cruiserweight contender. The Internet sensation and the 22-year-old Fury (6-0, 4 KOs) are comparable in age and experience levels.
Though Fury truly wants to box Paul, he assured Showtime announcers Brian Campbell and Luke Thomas later Wednesday night that he hasn’t overlooked Taylor. The 32-year-old Taylor, of Alameda, California, is a mixed martial artist who lost his only professional boxing match, a four-rounder to Donte Stubbs, by split decision four years ago.
“First time fighting in the United States,” Tommy Fury said. “I’ve been over a few times around fight week. Obviously, Tyson fights over here. So, you know, I’ve become pretty accustomed to what the USA holds when you’re fighting over here. I’ve seen, you know, all the fight nights, all the fight weeks, the buildups. You know, I’m used to it.
“It’s not my first rodeo cuz from a young kid I seen Tyson, you know, box [Wladimir] Klitschko, box all these great guys, and I’ve always been there fight week, watching how he handles himself, watching what he does during fight week. And I’ve just thought to myself, ‘When my time comes, which is now, I’m gonna do the exact same now.’ So, I flew me and my team over here. We know exactly how to handle business, and this is easy work.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
