Jake Paul points ’12 rounds’ demand as he eyes subsequent opponent after Joshua loss
Jake Paul was stopped by Anthony Joshua in the sixth round in Miami on Friday night, and the American has now stated his five-word condition for a rematch with Tommy Fury
Jake Paul would be willing to face Tommy Fury in a rematch, but only if the pair could settle on a 12-round contest. Paul suffered defeat to Anthony Joshua in Texas on Friday evening (Saturday, December 20 UK time).
The British icon dominated the social media sensation across six rounds. The loss to Joshua in the Netflix-streamed fight marked Paul’s second professional defeat.
His sole other loss came against Fury, who claimed a points victory when they clashed in Saudi Arabia in February 2023, reports the Mirror.
Since then, speculation about a rematch has persisted, with Paul insisting: “Only if it’s 12 rounds”. Their original encounter was an eight-round cruiserweight clash.
Fury has previously expressed his eagerness to take on Paul once more. He told ESPN: “In a heartbeat, yeah. I mean at the end of the day I think me and him, we’re set in stone. He’s only got one defeat and that’s to me, so it’s inevitable that we are going to get back in the ring.”
Fury last competed in May. His points triumph over Kenan Hanjalic marked the first time the 26-year-old had stepped into the ring in nearly two years, and it’s his lack of ring sharpness that’s contributed to delays in arranging another bout with Paul.
The former Love Island contestant has confessed to rejecting a rematch with Paul this year, insisting he requires at least two or three tune-up fights beforehand.
In the documentary series “Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury”, the fighter revealed why he turned down a rematch with Paul, which had been planned for June. Fury has also faced accusations of avoiding a rematch, turning down several lucrative proposals to return to the ring.
Back in April, Paul’s promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian claimed Fury had rejected “multiple offers” to face the American again.
Bidarian stated: “Tommy was offered an unbelievable deal to headline versus Jake on Netflix and they had a false sense of expectations. Jake’s not gonna ever offer him that kind of money again. Now if Tommy Fury showed up and said, ‘Jake, here is $20million to fight me and I’m gonna make $20million.’ Right, all the power to you.
“But they’ve never made an offer once. And we’ve made multiple offers to try to make that rematch happen. And if you’re very confident that you’re gonna be Jake Paul, you should have jumped at the opportunity to fight him for $6million plus upside on Netflix. It’s just beyond ridiculous that they didn’t.”
Nevertheless, Fury appears keen on the bout. He recently delivered a frank message to the ‘Problem Child,’ telling Boxing Social: “If I were to fight him, which I think will 100% happen, then he has got to stop talking b****** like he is every single day on Twitter.
“He is offering stupid numbers that are not realistic. He thinks because he has got a few followers on Instagram and YouTube that he can call the shots, but if you want to come into a sport where we fight, then none of that matters. You lost, I won. So let’s talk some realistic numbers.”
If a rematch with Fury isn’t on the cards, the YouTuber-turned-boxer is rumoured to have drawn up a list of potential rivals.
Names such as Canelo Alvarez, Conor McGregor, KSI, Kamaru Usman, his own brother Logan Paul, Ben Askren, AnEsonGib, Nate Robinson, Tyron Woodley, and Nate Diaz are all believed to be in the mix.
Gervonta Davis might also be a target after a bout with ‘Tank’ fell through, leading Paul to shift his focus to Joshua. UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is another contender, while Paul has also mentioned Terrence Crawford, who recently hung up his gloves.
