"All the way through in these two and a half years, I had a dream, I had a vision that I would win this fight and no one would believe me. Now I can stand up and everyone can take note: in my first main event, 23 years old, I had the world on my shoulders and I came through."
Tommy Fury’s words in the ring following his split-decision win over Jake Paul in Saudi Arabia were laden with emotion. He clearly felt the pressure surrounding this fight, with his family name weighing heavy on him, and he earnt the win he needed to maintain his reputation as a genuine boxer.
But what comes next for Fury?
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The fighter himself will be desperate to prove himself as a genuine contender. He may not have the boxing ability that his older brother has but, at 23, he has plenty of time to make it in the sport.
“I’ve not achieved one thing that is worth talking about,” he said to The Sportsman back in 2020. “You know, anybody can sit in the sun for two months and chat up girls can’t they? It’s not really difficult is it, it takes no great talent to do that. It takes an awful lot of talent to be a champion in boxing and not many men can do that, so if I could do that and go down in history, then I’ve accomplished something. Then I can speak about what I’ve done.”
He’s certainly desperate to be taken seriously as a professional boxer, with a British or European title in his sights, but is it the right thing for him to do in his career? Financially, even a world title fight would struggle to match how much he earned on Sunday night. Reportedly, he was paid £1.6m and 35% of the PPV purse - giving him total earnings of £3.7m for eight rounds of work. He’s all too aware of the chance that Jake Paul has given him.
“I feel like I’ve won the lottery,” he said. “You’re asking me to fight on a massive world stage, you’re going to pay me nicely, and all I’ve got to do is fight Jake Paul, a YouTuber."
Fury, after his win, will probably not face another fighter who generates such a big crowd and sporting interest, with such limited ability. The 23-year-old should be able to beat Paul seven days a week, and won the fight in Saudi Arabia relatively comfortably. The beauty of this win is that due to the rematch clause, they are likely to do it all over again.
Fury will probably receive a higher percentage of the PPV purse the second time around and it could even surpass his earnings for the first fight. Paul is his golden goose and now he will be given the chance to beat him all over again for a massive payday.
This level of earnings far exceeds Fury’s own ability, let alone Jake Paul’s. If he heads back to the Queensbury undercards to earn his stripes, he can expect to earn thousands of pounds per fight - rather than millions. As much as he would earnestly love to make it in the boxing game and follow in his brother’s footsteps, sticking to celebrity boxers would be far more lucrative and he should milk the teet of the YouTube Boxing cash cow as much as he can.
It might only be a phase that lasts for another year or two. So why wouldn’t Fury take full advantage and maximise his earnings with little risk? It’s why the rematch is the perfect next step. Although he couldn’t land a knockout, he’s a far better boxer than Paul.
However, although he could handle his own with fellow professionals, he is unlikely to ever make it to world level where the money starts ramping up. The work he would have to put in to make it to that level may not seem as tempting when there are millions of pounds on offer to step into a ring with KSI.
It’s easy money. And it seems like his dad John may have realised that too.
“We wanted KSI next,” said, when asked who Tommy could fight if the rematch doesn’t take place. “KSI, give us a call. If you’re all hot air, don’t bother. But if you want it, you can have it next.”
This niche seems to be perfect for Fury. He doesn’t have to be the best boxer in the world to make a tonne of money and win fights. But it also suits his Love Island celebrity background down to a tee. The only question mark over it is, if he just cared about being a celebrity, why get back into the ring at all? Him and Molly Mae are not short of cash in the slightest, so that inner desire to be a true fighter must still burn.
He’s got time on his side. A devastating defeat to a top professional would take the shine off his unbeaten record. But two years of battering internet personalities for millions of pounds seems like the perfect plan.
