Tommy Fury has withdrawn from his upcoming fight against Jake Paul, who confirmed the news on Monday, with Tyron Woodley stepping in.
Fury and Paul were set to fight in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 18, but reports said Fury — half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury — was injured and Paul later confirmed on social media that Woodley would step in.
“The Fury’s have pulled out of the fight due to a ‘medical condition,'” Paul said in his post. “I couldn’t believe the news at first. It doesn’t even seem real. He fumbled the biggest bag of his life, now he’ll be watching at home paying me $60 instead of getting paid millions of dollars to fight me.
“When my team woke me up on Friday to tell me Tommy [Fury] was pulling out, I told them I’m ready to fight anyone on Dec. 18. Troy, Trey, Trevor, Travis. I don’t give a damn who it is.
“So, as I predicted Tommy Fumbles and Tyron is there to pick it up, 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,” he added.
Woodley has a chance to seek redemption after he was defeated by YouTuber Paul in a cruiserweight fight in August in a split decision.
In November, Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, played down concerns that the fight would be off after the 22-year-old was ill with a cold. Warren has not commented on the withdrawal.
The December pay-per-view fight, which was confirmed only in late October, was to be contested at 192 pounds for eight, three-minute rounds.
Paul, 24, has a 4-0 record in his short boxing career, two of which took place this year. In April he knocked out former Bellator and ONE Champion, Ben Askren, and NBA veteran Nate Robinson.
Amanda Serrano, ESPN’s No. 3-ranked female boxer in the world, will continue to fight in the co-main event against Miriam Gutierrez.
ESPN Boxing
