For his upcoming bout, Jake Paul had to pivot past Tommy Fury and now Tyron Woodley’s wish for a rematch has been granted.
Paul will now meet Woodley again on Dec. 18 back on Showtime PPV. This time they will meet at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Their first pairing was in Paul’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, at the Quicken Loans Arena.
Fury Extinguished
Paul’s original opponent was Tommy Fury, the younger brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. He retreated abruptly “due to a medical issue that impacted his training camp,” according to Showtime’s announcement.
According to reports, Fury is suffering from a “severe chest infection” and broken rib. He released a statement to the media.
Tommy Fury suffered a broken rib and is dealing with a chest infection, per a statement released by his team: pic.twitter.com/tVE2ggJe9I
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 6, 2021
“I am absolutely heartbroken that I have been forced to withdraw from my fight with Jake Paul due to a bacterial chest infection and broken rib. The beginning of my camp was going so incredibly and I never expected anything to come in my way from a victory on December 18th.
“I can’t express how disappointed I am and I really do hope we can get this fight rescheduled in the new year, I want this fight to still happen more than anything. I’m now regretfully putting my focus on recovery and a further reschedule date.”
The Show Must Go On
Paul addressed the media spinning right into his next opponent.
“This is boxing, right? These types of things happen, and it’s unfortunate,” said Paul. “But it’s still going to be a massive fight just like it was last time. There are celebrities coming out left and right. Some are even more excited to see me fight Tyron again. There are unanswered questions. That’s why the slogan for the fight is ‘Leave No Doubt.’
“I’ve gotten so much better in this training camp. I’m going to leave no doubt. I want to knock this guy out. We can move on from there but for the Furys, it’s an embarrassment. They said, ‘Oh, we’ll fight Jake with a broken rib. We’ll fight Jake with a chest infection. We’ll fight Jake with our arms tied behind our backs.’ And then when it actually came time to fight me, they pulled out.”
Tommy Fury has pulled out of the fight due to a “medical condition” and Tyron Woodley is stepping in for December 18th for the official rematch. pic.twitter.com/t1OFVQQBBt
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) December 6, 2021
Woodley Gets His Wish
Paul said once Fury pulled out his team was already in touch with Woodley who has been training in search of a rematch.
“I got the news early Friday morning. My manager, Nakisa had already spoken to Tyron, who was willing to step up. I believe later that evening or the next day, we already had the contract signed from Tyron.
“I definitely respect Tyron for stepping in. He has balls. Tyron deserves a lot of credit for stepping in here. But I’ve made a ton of adjustments and he’s going to be fighting a different person December 18. I’m excited to show him and the world that.”
Tommy Fury: "I am absolutely heartbroken that I have been forced to withdraw from my fight with Jake Paul due to a bacterial chest infection and broken rib.”
Also Tommy Fury: pic.twitter.com/4qlBNHT622
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) December 6, 2021
Paul The Promoter
However, Paul did throw shade at Fury and his family while being the consummate self-promoter he is.
“I question everything about the Fury family. This kid is 22, right? You throw a 22-year-old in who has never accomplished anything himself. The only reason he’s anything is because of his brother. He’s had a silver spoon in his mouth his whole entire life. He’s gotten fame because of his brother. He’s never actually had a real opponent.
“He’s only ever been put in with people who were meant to lose. When you throw in that, you throw in the fact that you’re fighting me — I’m a scary guy to fight — the smack talk, the pressure, all of this, I think he cracked and tried to find a way out. I truly believe that in the deepest bones of my body.”
Breaking: Jake Paul announced on Twitter that Tyron Woodley has accepted a rematch on Dec. 18 after Tommy Fury dropped out of the fight for medical reasons.
Paul also said he'll give Woodley an additional $500,000 if he's able to knock him out.@ESPNRingside pic.twitter.com/EYUUrSFb8j
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 6, 2021
The Knockout Clause
Paul also announced that he added an additional $500,000 potential for Woodley if he can knock him out. The “knockout clause” is to silence the chatter that Paul rigs his bouts.
“There’s been this rumor going around about a no-knockout clause in my contracts, which someone started and everyone else ran with. People are like sheep. They just believe anything they read or see. That’s been a rumor that is completely untrue.
“I’d be in jail for rigging fights. It’s illegal. We just wanted to squash that rumor right away. From now on, we will be giving bonuses to my opponents if they can knock me out because we want to incentivize them and prove to the media and the world that all of these rumors aren’t true.”
New Motivation
Now both Paul and Woodley have something to prove. For Woodley, its about redemption, and for Paul its about establishing his dominance and finishing Woodley.
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“For me, the biggest thing to gain is proving people wrong from last time that thought he won, which is hilarious. Including the judge who made it a split-decision,” Woodley said. “Clearly, he was at some different fight. But now I’m going to back that up and go and knock this guy out. It just goes to show when I say anyone, anytime, anyplace I mean it.
“Most fighters aren’t like that. For me to take whoever, wherever, whenever this early on in my career doing eight-round fights in my fifth fight, it’s unheard of. People just need to realize how serious I take this and how a lot of these other professional fighters don’t train as hard as me. They’re not as prepared as me.”
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