Jake Paul announced on Twitter that his upcoming opponent Tommy Fury was out of their bout due to medical issues and that recent foe Tyron Woodley will step up for the rematch on December 18.
Monday morning saw surprising turn of events for the most unlikely of stars in combat sports in 2021 as Jake Paul announced that his upcoming foe Tommy Fury is out of their fight next Saturday on December 18. Instead, recent opponent Tyron Woodley will be stepping up to take the fight after a highly publicized campaign in the media to secure the rematch.
Tommy Fury has pulled out of the fight due to a “medical condition” and Tyron Woodley is stepping in for December 18th for the official rematch. pic.twitter.com/t1OFVQQBBt
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) December 6, 2021
Paul took to Twitter to break the news himself, stating:
“It is official, Tommy Fury is boxing’s biggest b*tch. He has pulled out of the fight. The Furys have pulled out of the fight due to a ‘medical condition,’ who knows what’s going on in that camp? I think he has a bad case of ‘p*ss-itis.’ I couldn’t believe the news at first. This still doesn’t even seem real. He fumbled the biggest bag of his life. Now he will be watching at home, paying me $60 instead of getting paid millions of dollars to fight me. I fought with a broken nose, I fought sick, get the f*ck over it. This is boxing. It’s official, he was scared, I think the pressure got to him, the sh*t talk got to him. That’s the bad news, guys. The good news is that Mr. Tyron Woodley, we called him up and we were like, ‘Hey, you want to take the fight?’ He has been training. He goes, ‘Sure, I’ll take the fight, let’s do the rematch, run it back.’ I’m giving him $500,000 extra if he can knock me out. Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2. Leave no doubt. I didn’t knock him out the first time, I’m coming back and I’m getting that crazy W, the crazy highlight-reel knockout. Dec. 18, the show must go on, I’ll see you guys there.”
Paul and his new promotional home Showtime had sown the seeds of a bout with Fury perfectly in August. While Paul fought Woodley in the main event, Fury faced Paul’s undersized teammate Anthony Taylor on the undercard in a fight that largely was served to showcase “TNT” as a future foe. After the two won their fights, they had a backstage confrontation that was caught on camera following the event.
Following Paul’s victory over Woodley, the former UFC champion took to social media to campaign for a rematch. In the buildup to their first fight, much was made of the public wager from Paul that the loser get a tattoo saying they loved the winner and after the fight said he would honor a rematch if Woodley followed through. Woodley went on to post a picture with the words on his finger and since then has taken jabs at Paul at seemingly every turn on social media.
The actor and social media star Paul is looking to continue his undefeated streak and record his fifth straight victory after making his professional debut in early 2020. In that short span he has recorded victories over fellow YouTuber Anenson Gib, former NBA player Nate Robinson, former Bellator and ONE champion Ben Askren, and Woodley to become the unlikeliest of pay-per-view draws in the current combat sports landscape.
One year ago today, @JakePaul knocked out Nate Robinson.
(via @Triller) pic.twitter.com/DRJCCi3X7j
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) November 28, 2021
Woodley is looking to get back in the win column after losing his UFC championship in 2019. “The Chosen One” struggled in losses to top UFC contenders Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington, and Vicente Luque. The loss to Luque in March was the last on his UFC contract and he explored free agency, allowing him to be free to face Paul. Notably, he did return to the UFC analyst desk once following the bout.
The rematch is scheduled to take place on December 18 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
