TOMMY FURY has sensationally claimed the proposed punch-up between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul could end up being RIGGED.
Exploratory talks over a shock showdown between the former two-time unified heavyweight champion and the YouTube sensation have taken place.
Talks over a shock showdown between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul have taken place
MEGAPaul and his team are optimistic about the fight coming to fruition and fancy their chances[/caption]
GETTYFormer Paul foe Tommy Fury has sensationally claimed there’s a chance AJ could be “paid off” before the fight[/caption]
The prospect of the pair, 35 and 28 respectively, sharing the ring has stunned fight fans and fighters alike.
Former Paul opponent Fury is among those baffled by the potential crossover clash.
He told The Stomping Ground: “Money‘s a very powerful thing in this world.
“But if it goes past two minutes of the opening round, then I will take that in [as that] AJ’s been paid off.
“And I think it’s going to take a lot of money to for that to happen. And if it does, I think it will be very, very upsetting for everybody.
“But you can’t rule it out. Because that’s just where boxing is today.”
Fury – the younger brother of former WBC heavyweight king Tyson – got the better of Paul in their Saudi showdown in February 2023.
And having shared the ring with The Problem Child, he’s adamant he has no business trading heavy leather with London 2012 gold medallist AJ.
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He said: “If I can beat Jake Paul, then excuse my French, but what the f**k is Anthony Joshua going to do to Jake Paul?
“I think my dad said, ‘AJ could beat him with his p***k.’ And I completely will back that up.
“Even if AJ had a broken arm in there, it still wouldn’t go past a minute.
“To be honest with you, as a safety aspect, there’s no way that fight can go ahead if one of them is not paid off.
“It’s gonna take a lot of money, but AJ could be paid off to not throw a punch for eight rounds. I pray not, I pray not.
“But at the end of the day, my God, how good does it make me look?
“If he gets beat by Jake Paul, that automatically makes me two-time heavyweight champion of the world, doesn’t it?
“Because my God. There’s no proper way; I’ve just got to laugh about it.
“How are we even talking about this? He got his nut boxed off me a little over two years ago.
“And now all of a sudden, he’s talking about fighting Anthony Joshua. It’s like, ‘Come on. You can’t be serious.’
GettyTommy Fury fought Jake Paul in February 2023 and insists he has no business sharing the ring with AJ[/caption]
It’s gonna take a lot of money, but AJ could be paid off.”
Tommy Fury on Anthony Joshua fighting Jake Paul
“You can’t beat me and I’m not Anthony Joshua, am I?’ It’s just ludicrous, it really is.
“But that is the sport of boxing as current times stand.”
Fury’s comments could come back to bite him as Paul has grown sick and tired of people suggesting his fights are rigged.
So much so that he’s hired Elon Musk‘s lawyer, Alex Spiro, to go after anyone who claims his fights are in any way fixed, of which there has been NO EVIDENCE.
He wrote on X: “After years of letting it slide as just ‘haters being haters’, I have asked my team to vigorously go after anyone who makes up lies about my boxing career.
“Expect to get served, you pigs.”
Former unified heavyweight king AJ hasn’t set foot inside the ring since his devastating fifth-round KO loss to Daniel Dubois last September.
Paul, meanwhile, laboured to a points win over former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June.
SunSport has reached out to Anthony Joshua’s representatives for comment.
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