Tommy Fury has been branded a boxing “novice” by former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton, who believes Jake Paul has the upper hand ahead of their upcoming fight.
Although YouTube star Paul is set to face an opponent with a boxing background for the first time when the pair meet in Florida on 18 December, Frampton said the American is facing former Love Island contestant Fury at “the right time” in his career.
Fury, who is the half-brother of world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, has won all of his seven fights as a professional boxer, while Paul has defeated fellow YouTube star Ali Eson Gib, former NBA player Nate Robinson, and ex-UFC fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
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Fury, 22, made his US debut on the undercard of Paul’s victory over Woodley in August as he defeated Anthony Taylor, but Frampton said he is yet to be impressed by the Briton’s boxing abilities at this stage of his development.
“I’ve seen Jake Paul, little highlights of him. I’ve seen Tommy Fury, I was actually working for BT for one of his fights as a pundit. I think that if you put a gun to my head, I think I fancy Jake Paul in that fight, if I’m being honest,” Frampton told talkSPORT.
“Although he’s very, very new to boxing, he’s alright. He can box a bit. Yet to fight a proper boxer, but I think he’s been very careful with the opponents he does pick and I think Tommy Fury, a novice professional – let’s call a spade a spade, that’s what he is, a very novice professional with a lot to learn – I think he’s [Paul] getting him at the right time.
“I would probably [pick] Paul in that fight. I don’t like to say it because I don’t know how good that looks on boxing if he beats an actual boxer.”
Taylor, who was on the wrong side of a unanimous decision in Cleveland earlier this year, has been sparring with Paul ahead of the December bout and said that there is a clear difference between the two fighters.
“Jake is twice as good as Tommy,” Taylor said. “Tommy only has that long reach. You take that long reach away and he becomes a mediocre fighter. Tommy is green, Tommy’s not anywhere near Jake’s level.
“I get it, people are going to say, ‘you’re biased because you train with Jake.’ But I fought Tommy, Tommy doesn’t have knockout power. Having sparred with Jake, he uses the ring very well and has good strategy and patience.
