Hall of Fame coach and analyst Teddy Atlas thinks Jake Paul will defeat Tommy’s Rage.
Paul (6-0.4 KOs) will meet Fury (8-0.4 KOs) in an eight-round, 185-pound pay-per-view match on February 26 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fury, half brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, was Paul’s first opponent with boxing experience, but Atlas questioned the former reality TV star’s killer instincts.
“Fury, he is clearly someone who has been fighting longer. He comes from the Fury family. He is clearly more experienced. He’s been boxing most of his life,” Atlas said on his podcast “The WAR with Teddy Atlas.” “He knows how to look like a warrior. I don’t know if he knows how to fight like a boxer.”
He continued, “Jake Paul is learning how to behave like a warrior. I didn’t know that Tommy Fury fully knew that. I will put it in context. Tommy Fury is leading 8-0, and he has four knockouts. The combined record of all eight of his opponents is 24 wins, 176 losses and 5 draws.
Atlas agrees with Paul’s comments on Fury’s past objections and even goes a little further.
“He (Paul) said to Tommy Fury, ‘You don’t fight anything but a taxi driver,’” Atlas continued. “I would like to add one more thing: They are terrible taxi drivers. They don’t even have a license to practice.”
Fury has failed to finish off his previous three opponents, something Atlas has criticized considering their track record. On the other hand, Paul finished off four of his six opponents – and possibly beat Anderson Silva late in the decisive win.
While Paul’s opposition isn’t exactly certified in the boxing world, Atlas thinks Paul has been very tactical in targeting Fury as his next opponent.
“He’s not a puncher,” Atlas said of Fury. “He is not physically. He’s not physically strong. He’s not a banger at all. … Jake Paul is physically strong. Fury is not physically strong. I think that’s why he chose him. He’s not stupid. I think he thinks he can use his body, and I think he thinks he’s tougher mentally. And he may be right. Right now, with a little bit of work to do, I would say maybe he, that he’s more determined, he’s a little tougher mentally. So I’ll go with what I’ve seen, what I know so far.
“So I don’t care what people think. I would choose Jake Paul.”
