Jake Paul And Tommy Fury Trade Verbal Jabs At Press Conference In Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. — "I'm going to shut you all the f*** up and you will put respect on my name after I beat this kid. Fight a real boxer? No f****** problem."

A very confident Jake Paul took to the podium on Monday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, the site of his Dec. 18 match with Tommy Fury on Showtime PPV. Fury participated over Zoom, back in the United Kingdom tending to a family emergency.

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Paul, the 24-year-old YouTube sensation, has met his fair share of criticism from boxing purists since transitioning to the boxing world. A 4-0 start to his professional career, including a split-decision victory over former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley on Aug. 29 ramped it up even more.

"Face a real boxer," the hardcore boxing fans screamed. Enter Fury, the younger half-brother of WBC and Ring Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury. Fury is a professional boxer and carries a 7-0 record with four knockouts. Impressive to the masses, but not to Paul, who is out to prove himself.

"This kid's (Fury) chin hasn't been tested, he's only been put in with opponents that were meant to lose," Paul said. "I've never done that. All my fights were stepping into the unknown. For him, this is the first fight where the opponent isn't just put in there to lose."

Fury, 22, will be fighting just his second match on U.S. soil, his first and only coming on the same card of Paul vs. Woodley on Aug. 29. Fury said that he's not using this fight to advance his career, but rather to cash in on a huge payday by facing Paul.

"I feel like I've won the lottery," Fury said. "You're asking me to fight an absolutely nobody on a massive world stage. You're going to pay me very nicely and comfortably and all I've got to do is fight Jake Paul, a YouTuber? I'm going to splatter this man come Dec. 18."

Paul, however, doesn't see it that way. This is a "prove it" bout to him, one that he's taking very seriously. Paul questioned Fury's stamina, as he has never gone past the 4th round, while also calling him green in the ring.

"On the biggest stage possible, in front of millions of people, this young man will crack," Paul said. "He's not battle tested like me. He hasn't lived the life that I have. He hasn't gone through the s*** that I've gone through.

"He's had a silver spoon in his mouth his whole entire life. He's doing this because his brother does it, because his dad told him to do it. This isn't something that he wants to do. If it were up to him, he would be an Abercrombie and Fitch model."

Tyson was present on Zoom alongside his brother and didn't hold back on what a loss would mean to the Fury family.

"No disrespect to Jake Paul, but like I said to Tommy, if he can't knock Jake Paul out, then fly to a foreign country and stay there," Tyson said. "Because you ain't coming home."