The stakes have been raised for this summer’s Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury boxing match.
Paul and Tyson Fury, Tommy’s older half-brother and boxing heavyweight champ, have agreed to a $1 million bet on the Aug. 6 bout, which will take place at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The wager was brokered via videos on social media over the weekend.
Originally, Tyson said in an interview that he was so confident in his brother that he would bet $100,000 on him. Paul, the YouTube-star-turned-prizefighter, responded in a video saying he’d accept the bet, but mocked Tyson for putting so little on the line considering Tyson made tens of millions over the few years in fight purses.
Tyson fired back on social media, saying he’d up the ante to $1 million. But he added that he’s not confident Paul actually has that much money. Tyson said he wanted the money to be put in escrow and then given to the winner after the bout.
“I don’t think you’ve got a million dollars,” Tyson said. “And I ain’t talking about crypto. I’m talking about real, U.S. greenbacks.”
In Paul’s response, he said he would contact his lawyer and get the money into escrow “right away.” He poked fun again at the amount Tyson wanted to bet, implying that maybe the older brother doesn’t have as much confidence in Tommy as he claims.
“The heavyweight champion of the world, a million dollars is all you want to bet?” Paul said. “You want to go with some chump change like that, no problem.”
Paul then asked what he should spend the money on if he wins the fight. Paul mentioned a Ferrari SF90 Stradale, a Ferrari 296 GTB or a Richard Mille McLaren watch.
“I’m gonna take your money and spend it on some good s–, though,” Paul said.
Paul, 25, is 5-0 as a pro boxer and is coming off a one-punch knockout of former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley last December. Tommy Fury, 23, is 8-0 as a pro and beat Daniel Bocianski on points in April. Tommy Fury gained celebrity notoriety in the United Kingdom after appearing on the reality show Love Island.