21 February 2023 , 10:29
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Tommy Fury was sparring Irish prospect Cathal Crowley when he should have been facing off with Jake Paul.
Fury is finally set to do battle with bitter rival Paul in Saudi Arabia on Sunday after months of trading verbal barbs. The British star came face-to-face in London with the YouTube star to announce their event last month, but missed their launch press conference in the Middle East.
The ex-Love Island star's promoter George Warren cited "personal and private matters" as the reason for Fury's absence from the face-off which noticeably left Paul fuming while completing media duties on his own. However a new explanation has come to light wight Irishman Crowley claiming he was involved in eight rounds of sparring with Fury at the time of the media event.
He tweeted: "Great experience out in Bolton helping Tommy get ready for his fight with Jake Paul. While Jake Paul was chatting s**t at a press conference, me and Tommy were doing eight hard rounds of sparring."
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Fury has been putting a lot into his training camp for arguably the biggest test of his career against Paul, and it has even been claimed the British star fractured a training partner's jaw during preparation. His absence from the press conference sparked fears among many that he could once again pull out from the showdown.
The 23-year-old was forced to cancel the fight on two previous occasions having broken his rib in December 2021, before pulling the plug on their scheduled showdown last August after being unable to fly to the US. However despite renewed doubts, Fury flew out to Saudi Arabia last week to begin his fight week plans.
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Paul celebrated the news and it now looks more likely than ever that the pair are ready to finally settle their scores. Despite appearing to prepare more dedicated than ever, Fury had insisted he could beat Paul without a training camp and has supreme confidence in his own ability.
However the YouTube star was keen to point out a contradiction in Fury's claims, and was left angered by his absence from the event. "When you sign up to do something and you make a commitment that is what it should be about," Paul said. "It just shows me he is scared because he said he didn't need to train for this fight. But meanwhile his excuse first was that he had to train extra to fight me. And now apparently it is a private matter.
"It is typical Fury stuff to be honest. I love Tyson but I'm saying the dad and Tommy it is typical from them. This fight goes three to four rounds, the kid has never been tested. He has never been in a hard fight. But I am going to show him on February 26 that this is a hard business and he is certainly not going to like the sport when I am done with him."