John Fury believes Jake Paul would have been "shaken up" by any of the opponents son Tommy has fought in his boxing career thus far.
The light-heavyweight prospect, younger brother of WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson, makes his United States debut on Sunday evening on the Showtime card for Paul's bout with Tyron Woodley in Cleveland.
'TNT' takes on MMA fighter Anthony Taylor and looks to improve his professional record to 7-0, with a crunch clash with Paul well within his sights after signing a two-fight deal.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, 3-0, has made a name for himself after knocking out Nate Robinson and Ben Askren but is yet to face a professional boxer.
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And although John hails the 23-year-old as a "massive star in his own right", he is under no illusions in regards to the difference in opposition his son and Paul have faced.
“Time will tell when he fights Tommy, you’ll see how good he is then," the 57-year-old told SPORTbible when asked if Paul is as good as he thinks he is.
"You’ve got to be in it to win it and at the end of the day, he’s not fought any credible opposition.
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“I know Tommy’s been boxing like journeymen in his fledgling career but that’s what he needs to do to learn and know the trade properly.
“But all those journeymen Tommy has faced our professional boxers, they’ve all had long amateur careers and they know how to fight. It’s a professional business.
“Where Jake Paul he’s just had three ‘gimmies’ and the one that hit the floor – for my money it looked like a dive to be honest with you.
“It’s good business sense for Jake Paul’s handlers to keep him busy. If they’re making millions of dollars, they wanna keep him busy, relevant and unbeaten.
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“But he’s being more than looked after in my opinion. Let’s see if the Tommy fight comes along. You’ll see what he’s like when he boxes my son.
“I do believe any one of those opponents Tommy has faced would shake Jake Paul up, I really do.”
'Big John' has been on interview duty for BT Sport this week, chatting with his son and fellow Brit Daniel Dubois, who also gets his big break across the pond at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
The same privilege was offered to Paul, but 'The Problem Child' did not accept the proposal.
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“He probably found my way of doing things a bit daunting and a desperate task sort of thing," Fury explained.
"I was up for doing it. You can’t make people speak to you if they don’t want to can you.
“He’s a young kid and I do tend to put them in their place. I’ll pull a rank on youngsters no matter who they are.
“I just would have wanted to know what his intentions are in the sport; I’d have questioned his longevity in the sport and where he aims to go.
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“He’s had three professional fights against absolute no-ones and it’s hard to know which way he’s going – whether he’s doing it for more fame, more dollars on top of what he’s go and just to keep himself relevant in the public eye – which I think that’s the case.”
Paul and Fury have gone back and forth with trash talk for a while now and it continued again during the press conference ahead of this bill.
They appear destined to meet inside the squared circle. Fury's camp want it to happen next and are more than confident the former Love Island star would come out on top if a deal is agreed.
John continued: “We’re up for it but it’s whether they want it. Mark my words, Tommy will beat him.
“He’s had three fights. Tommy’s been around boxing since he was a small boy and most of his adult life he’s been around the best of the best in Tyson and Hughie and he’s sparred endless rounds with them.
“It’s more than Jake Paul’s done. You’ve got to live to gain experience and Tommy’s gained plenty off the best.
“You couldn’t put Jake Paul in with Tyson, Tyson would annihilate him. Just because it’s his smaller brother, Tyson unloads on him and that’s what they do. They train hard and fight hard.
“I know what Tommy has got inside of him but has Jake Paul got that? The jury is still out. We’ll find out shortly if he takes the fight. I can’t see him taking it to tell the truth.
“We’d like it next after this one. There’s no need for Tommy to fight anyone else. If they want it, let’s put it on next.”
BT Sport Box Office will show Jake Paul v Tyron Woodley exclusively live on Sunday 29th August. Watch all the action from an exciting card that also features Daniel Dubois and Tommy Fury from 00:30. To find out more, visit www.bt.com/sportboxoffice
Featured Image Credit: Image: PATopics: Boxing, Tommy Fury, Tyson Fury, John Fury, Jake Paul, Tyron Woodley