Jake Paul Confirms Replacement Fighter For Fury On Standby

On Saturday night in London, England, Youtube/social media star turned fighter Jake Paul was ringside for the world light heavyweight title showdown between Arutr Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde. And, just before the main event happened, he and his on again/off again foe, Tommy Fury, actually stepped into the Wembley Arena ring and publicized their latest attempt to fight coming in February by doing the traditional boxing “stare down.”

Now, Paul is also confirming details of the bout and also importantly, whom the backup opponent for Fury will be should Fury duck out, again.

At the Queensberry Promotions hosted press conference Saturday night, Paul gave the media gathered some more specifics and the name of the possible replacement. Here’s the video from the “Seconds Out” Youtube page,

“Yeah, we have Mike Perry on standby. Let’s go Mike Perry,” Paul said smiling and clapping. “He’s ready to jump in, in case Tommy pulls out.” 

Perry is a 31 year old Michigan native who has previously competed for five years in the UFC, but has recently competed in the Bareknuckle Fighting Championship league. He won his first fight in February 2022 on split decision. He then fought a main event Bareknuckle bout in London and won by majority decision.

Paul and Fury have been down this road before

Obviously, Queensberry and Paul’s promotional arm, MVP Promotions, have to be ready for Fury, the half brother of WBC Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, to do what he’s done before- back out of fighting Paul.

This, as Paul and Fury were originally slated to meet in Tampa, FL, in December 2021, but Fury withdrew from the bout just two weeks before it because of what he claimed was medical issue. Paul went on to record a tremendous one-punch knockout of Tyron Woodley, who stepped in as a late replacement for a rematch of the pair’s August 2021 clash.

Then, again, Fury left Paul, his promotion and Showtime PPV in the lurch, by backing out of their re-scheduled bout in August of last year slated for famed Madison Square Garden. Fury reportedly could not get a visa to travel to the U.S. for the promotion or for the actual fight week.

Another bad sign from Tommy Fury was that he didn’t attend, again, the promotional press conference for the media that Paul ended up doing solo.

Still, for now, the bout is back on with Paul boasting a 6-0 record, 4 KOs,  with his previous three fights being two against the former UFC welterweight champ Woodley. And, his most recent bout last October against MMA/UFC legend Anderson Silva whom he decisioned.

Fury is 8-0 in his fifth year as a pro. He previously had a short amateur background in England, as well, winning a couple of regional titles in 2016-17.

The attraction for Paul is that Fury is the first legitimate boxer that he would face and it would be Fury’s most noteworthy and most dangerous opponent to date.

Paul also told the media that the bout will be at the “catch-weight” of 185 lb. and that it’s a scheduled eight round contest, as each of his last four fights have been scheduled to be.

The bout, provided Fury doesn’t pull the plug on his part, again,  is set for Saudi Arabia on Sunday, February 26th to be televised on BT Sport PPV in the U.K. and ESPN+ PPV in the U.S.