Tommy Fury pulls out of Jake Paul fight with Tyron Woodley rematch confirmed

Tommy Fury has pulled out of his highly anticipated fight with Jake Paul later this month due to a chest infection and a broken rib.

The former Love Island star, who is the brother of heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, was due to take on YouTuber turned boxer Paul at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on 18 December. Instead Paul now faces a rematch with Tyron Woodley, whom he beat via split decision over eight rounds in August.

“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,” Fury said. “The beginning of my camp was going so incredibly and I never expected anything to come in my way from a victory on December 18.

“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 happen more than anything. i’m now regretfully putting my focus on recovery and a further reschedule date.”

The Fury-Paul fight had been heavily hyped by both fighters and their camps, including Tyson Fury. A recent promotional press conference descending into chaos as a series of vulgar insults were directed at Paul’s girlfriend Julia Rose by Fury’s father, John. Each fighter had vowed to end the other’s nascent boxing career with victory in Florida, but now Woodley will step in to take on Paul at the 11th hour.

Reacting to the news on his Instagram account, Paul said: “It is official, Tommy Fury is boxing’s biggest b***h.”

He added: “When my team woke me up on Friday to tell me Tommy Fumbles was pulling out, I told them I’ll fight anyone on December 18th. Unlike the Fury’s, Tyron actually has some balls, is stepping in, and contractually he is getting an extra $500,000 if he knocks me out.

“First time I outboxed him. This time I’m gonna punish him and leave no doubt.”

Woodley had recently been critical of Paul for supposedly avoiding a rematch. Speaking to MMAJunkie, he said: “Jake Paul is a b***h. He didn’t want to fight, like, ‘You did it too late.’ No, you just didn’t want to fight, and they gave you a way out, and you took it and ran. It’s like a little kid in a playground, ‘Na, na, na, na, na,’ when they know they didn’t really win.

“Most people that watched the fight felt like I won the fight. I really didn’t walk away a loser in the fight. My ceiling doesn’t look different right now.”

The pair had verbally agreed to a rematch after their first fight, with Paul insisting he would only face Woodley again once the MMA champion got an ‘I love Jake Paul’ tattoo. Woodley eventually did get the tattoo, but Paul said his rival had missed his chance.

Paul told TMZ Sports: “By the time [Woodley] got the tattoo we had already moved on. We had already moved on to fighting Tommy Fury and making the negotiations happen. I don’t think people really want to see Tyron vs Jake Paul again, so he has had his chance.”

Their first fight was controversial, with Woodley seeming to hold back when he had the upper hand, and there were later claims that the former MMA fighter was contractually “not allowed” to knock out Paul.

“Tyron Woodley, from what I heard, had it in the contract that he was not allowed to knock out Jake Paul,” Dillon Danis, a fighter in MMA promotion Bellator and a long-time training partner of Conor McGregor, said on The MMA Hour. “I swear on anything, that’s why when Jake Paul was against the ropes, Tyron Woodley didn’t hit him. I’m telling you right now. It was in his contract, where it said you’re not allowed to knock him out.”