By Vince D’Writer: Most boxers who pick up the sport at a young age are driven by the dream of working hard, rising through the rankings, and winning at least one title from a major boxing sanctioning organization, but the WBC is planning on tarnishing the dream by awarding a belt to the winner of the February 26 Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury bout.
After participating in a long public feud, Paul and Fury will finally meet in the squared circle on Sunday night at the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia. They were scheduled to face each other on two previous occasions, but unfortunately, Fury had issues that led to the postponement of both fights.
The initial Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury clash was scheduled for December 2021, but Fury had to pull out of the fight because he suffered a rib injury during training camp. The bout was rescheduled for August 2022, but once again, Fury was forced to withdraw from the fight due to the fact that he was experiencing visa issues and he was unable to enter the United States.
The Jake Paul-Tommy Fury feud began when Tommy’s brother, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury posted a screenshot of the viewership figures for Tommy’s win against Scott Williams. Jake Paul provided an immediate response as he labeled the viewership numbers as fake.
Tyson responded by daring Paul to fight his brother Tommy. Paul accepted the challenge, and now after two failed attempts at making the match, it appears that the third time is the charm, as the bout will finally take place Sunday night, live on ESPN+ PPV.
Jake Paul is a known YouTuber who started his boxing career in 2018. Paul is currently undefeated, but his unblemished record comes with an asterisk. Paul currently has six pro boxing victories, but he has yet to post a win against a traditional boxer.
Up to this point and time, Jake Paul has beaten a YouTuber, retired NBA player Nate Robinson, retired MMA fighter Ben Askren, he beat retired MMA fighter Tyron Woodley twice, and he recently defeated 47-year-old MMA fighter turned boxer Anderson Silva.
Tommy Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) has been in the ring with guys who are considered professional boxers, but all of the opponents he’s faced were low-level fighters. Five of Tommy Fury’s eight wins came against Jevgenijs Andrejevs (10-102), Callum Ide (0-26), Przemyslaw Binienda (2-26) Genadij Krajevskij (0-11), and Scott Williams (0-9).
This past week the WBC received a great deal of criticism when the sanctioning body’s president Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed that the winner of the Paul-Fury match would receive a ranking. Days later, the WBC added fuel to the fire when they announced that in addition to receiving a ranking, the winner will also receive the WBC Diriyah championship belt.
The WBC has created the Diriyah Belt to recognize the importance of “The Truth” (starred by @jakepaul + @tommytntfury) on the boxing scene, as this event continues to support the growth of our sport by attracting thousands of new viewers.
https://t.co/SvPx48qMsb pic.twitter.com/TRArjhTUEm— World Boxing Council (@WBCBoxing) February 23, 2023
Fans immediately responded by stating the accommodation that the WBC confirmed to provide for this event is pathetic and embarrassing, and it’s an insult to the boxers who have been grinding for years trying to earn a ranking and win a belt with the WBC label on it.
The sanctioning body defended their actions by releasing a statement: “The World Boxing Council has created the Diriyah Strap to recognize the importance of ‘The Truth’ to the boxing scene as this event continues supporting the growth of our sport by bringing new viewership.
“Jake has dedication and respect to the sport, and Tommy Fury from the Fury boxing dynasty represents a clear challenge to Paul in a battle of two undefeated professional boxers.”