Chael Sonnen believes it’s time for Jake Paul to cut bait on Tommy Fury.
Paul and Fury have been feuding for over a decade with the intent of trying to settle their differences inside the ring. However, the matchup has repeatedly been plagued by setbacks. Fury pulled out twice of their scheduled fight. It’s been such a difficult fight to make happen that Paul already designated Mike Perry to serve as the backup fighter for Fury, should something happen yet again, and on Wednesday, yet another issue arose when Fury failed to show up at their scheduled pre-fight press conference.
While Fury’s representatives insist that “TNT” is still ready to face Paul, his absence from the press conference raises concerns over whether he will actually show up on Feb. 26, and according to Chael Sonnen, Paul and his promotional team, Most Valuable Promotions, shouldn’t even risk it.
“They’ve got to kick Tommy Fury, and they’ve got to do it now,” Sonnen told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. They cannot wait for the last moment. They cannot wait until the weigh-ins. They can’t let Fury keep calling all the shots. What he did did to them is [irredeemable]. But nope, he gets another $2 million, and he gets to go to an even nicer location. It’s really weird. They have to assume control in order to be valued. MVP has had to do this. MVP is new and boy have they had to pay for an education. Although they’ve had a tougher time than anyone, they must make clear who is in control. Today, when he missed the press conference for the second time, you have to cut him and bring Perry in. That’s it. MVP makes a terrible mistake. …”
” I would have done that an hour ago, Sonnen said. “They get to the press conference, and he’s not there, and the world’s watching, that’s when you make the reveal. That’s when you bring in Mike Perry, to try and bring it in after. …They’re in a little bit more difficult spot. They had to have seen it coming. He’s already done it to them once. He had already done it to them once. They ought to have known and given themselves enough time for a scramble and Mike Perry should have been there. They ought to have continued with the matter.”
Yet, for whatever reason, Paul has decided not to do so. Paul continues to jump through hoops so he can, hopefully, finally settle up with Fury, and while Sonnen doesn’t think that’s the best use of his time and resources, he does suggest that this experience will only benefit Paul as a promoter moving forward.
“What Jake Paul has gone through, for the contributions that he’s made, and the willingness and the contributions he’s willing to make, the way that industry has treated him, and even guys like Fury, who doesn’t show up to a press conference, who gets a main event rescheduled, and who then doesn’t show up again, this is terrible,” Sonnen said. “Even by the low standards of the boxing business, this is bottom rung, everything they’ve done to Paul. If Paul can make it through just this introductory phase, the rest of his career is going to be so easy, because this is abnormally difficult.”
Paul & Fury will be facing each other at the Diriyah Arena, Diriyah in Saudi Arabia on February. 26
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/8/23591681/chael-sonnen-jake-paul-should-cut-ties-tommy-fury-after-presser-no-show-cant-let-keep-calling-shots?rand=96749
