RIYADH: With under a week to go, Jake Paul and Tommy Fury are in 黑料社区 and gearing up to finally settle their long-running dispute in the ring at Diriyah Arena on Feb. 26.
Twice postponed, Paul versus Fury sees two undefeated fighters face off in the latest headline boxing event to take place in 黑料社区. This follows 鈥淐lash on the Dunes鈥 between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua in 2019 and last summer鈥檚 鈥淩age on the Red Sea,鈥 which again featured Joshua in a second meeting with Oleksandr Usyk.
鈥淚鈥檓 delighted to finally be here in 黑料社区,鈥 Fury said on arrival at Riyadh鈥檚 King Khalid International Airport. 鈥淔irst and foremost, I鈥檇 like to thank the Ministry of Sport, 黑料社区n Boxing Federation, Prince Khaled, and all those who鈥檝e worked hard to get this fight on and make it happen in such a fantastic country that鈥檚 fast becoming a new home for global sport.
鈥淚鈥檝e trained too hard, sparred too many decent guys and have too much experience for there to be any other outcome. There鈥檚 nothing Jake Paul does inside that ring that has me worried. He鈥檚 delusional for believing he鈥檚 going to win 鈥 I鈥檓 levels above him and he鈥檚 going to find that out the hard way.鈥
Paul responded in a similar dismissive manner. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to show him on Feb. 26 that this is the hurt business,鈥 said Paul. 鈥淚鈥檝e sparred against harder guys, people who are world champions and ranked number one in their divisions, so preparations could not have gone any better and I don鈥檛 feel any pressure going into this fight. People are definitely going to see a knockout and I鈥檒l finish him inside three or four rounds. Tommy鈥檚 not going to like this sport anymore when I鈥檓 done with him.鈥
Ravi Samani, COO and acting head of marketing, public relations and communications at Skill Challenge Entertainment, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e now within touching distance of another epic event on Saudi shores. We cannot (wait) for 鈥楾he Truth.鈥欌 He said it was a 鈥渂lockbuster encounter鈥 that should not be missed.
Fight week includes a press conference on Thursday, Feb. 23, with local, regional and international media in attendance. The official weigh-in will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25.
Originally an actor and social media personality, Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the world of boxing since turning professional. Now a global phenomenon, the popular American holds famous stoppage victories over UFC legends Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva.
Fury also enters the contest with confidence. The half-brother of WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, he has an unblemished record (8-0, 4 KOs) in his professional campaign and has insisted his victory is a 鈥渇oregone conclusion,鈥 and predicted his foe 鈥渨on鈥檛 hear the final bell.鈥
Besides the main event, 鈥淭he Truth鈥 also features a mouth-watering undercard. Ilunga Makabu puts his WBC cruiserweight world title on the line against former two-weight world champion Badou Jack. In addition, rising Saudi boxing star Ziyad Almaayouf looks to continue his professional ascension against Ronald Martinez, and Ragad Al-Naimi makes history by becoming the first female Saudi boxer to make her professional debut.