Tommy Fury Prepared to Fight Former World Champion Roy Jones Jr.
Being the younger half-brother of lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has helped give Tommy Fury a lot of name recognition. Tommy, 24, started his professional boxing career in 2018. While it initially looked like he may try to pursue fighting as well, Tommy paused his career to appear on Love Island, a reality show that put a stop to his boxing career for a few years.
However, the status he gained from being in the public eye helped him develop a strong following on social media. It just so happened during the pandemic that everyone started to go a little crazy. Influencers decided they wanted to box. Fury, who had already started learning his craft, ended up scoring a number of big-money fights.
Fury would like to keep that train going and may have a fight in the future against Roy Jones Jr. The long-retired 54-year-old American fighter has dipped his toes in the exhibition fighting pound and would like to provide Fury with a legitimate opponent. Jones hopes to get another big payday according to boxing updates tonight.
Jones Hasn’t Fully Given Up Fighting
Jones’ accolades in fighting are long and many. He was an Olympic silver medalist in the light middleweight division. When Jones turned professional, he ended up accruing world titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. Jones had his first professional fight on May 6, 1989, when he knocked out Ricky Randall.
Jones appeared to wrap up his career in February 2018 when he beat Scott Sigmon by decision to win the WBU German cruiserweight title. He wouldn’t have another professional bout for five years when he lost a majority decision to Anthony Pettis at age 54 in April 2023. Jones is 66-10 as a professional with 47 knockouts in his career, according to world boxing latest news.
Tyson Got Jones Back in the Ring
Bizarrely, when Jones retired from boxing after the Sigmon win, he called out former UFC champion Anderson Silva for a fight in the octagon. At the time, Jones said that was the only fight he was willing to come back for. When former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson announced he was interested in coming back for exhibition fights, the first opponent targeted for Tyson was Evander Holyfield, with whom Tyson had a pair of wild bouts in the 1990s.
However, Holyfield and Tyson couldn’t agree to a purse. Instead, Jones was signed to fight, and the leadup to the November 2020 bout was a bizarre one. Originally, Jones and Tyson were supposed to fight in a bout that wasn’t going to be scored.
But a change was made at the last minute to have Jones and Tyson fight with 12-ounce gloves instead of 10-ounce gloves in a bout slated for eight rounds. However, a change was made at the last minute, and the fight was scored by three judges. One judge scored it for Tyson, one for Jones, and one a draw despite Tyson outlanding Jones at a high margin.
That entire card was strange in general. On the undercard, Jake Paul knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson in the second round.
Fury Hasn’t Proven Much in the Ring
Not unlike any young fighter, Fury has made his name early in his career by beating up on unheralded prospects. Fury has had ten fights since making his professional debut in 2018. He isn’t by any means a tremendously hard puncher.
Fury has won all ten of his bouts so far as a professional. During Fury’s last two fights, he ended up taking on the two biggest names on the influencer boxing scene in KSI and Jake Paul. When Fury beat Paul by split decision in 2023, it was a bout that took nearly two years to happen.
When the two men were originally scheduled to fight on Dec. 18, 2023, Fury had to pull out due to an illness. Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley stepped in for Fury and would lose to Paul by knockout in the sixth round.
Paul and Fury Finally Meet
Before finally having a fight with Paul, Fury picked up a win over Daniel Bocianski at Wembley Stadium in April 2022. The eight-round cruiserweight fight would take place in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Fury would end up winning by split decision.
Over the course of the bout, Fury landed a higher percentage of punches, but Paul did score a knockdown. Paul dropped Fury with a counter jab that forced Fury to take a knee. Fury would end up earning the split decision, winning 76-73 on two cards, while one judge gave the fight to Paul 75-74.
Fight With KSI Ends in Controversy
Fury’s October 2023 bout with KSI was a mess on many fronts. Fury originally won by a majority decision, with two judges scoring the fight 57-56, while the other saw it as a draw. However, the scorecard from judge Rafael Raos was amended to correct a mathematical error that saw Fury win a unanimous decision.
During the fight, Fury was deducted a point for repeatedly striking KSI on the back of the head. The result of the fight and the ensuing controversy led to KSI filing an official appeal over the decision.
Jones vs Fury Would Be Interesting Study
Boxing news latest headlines say that Jones’ camp and Fury are still working on a potential bout between the two men. While Fury’s last fights have been with younger people with big social media presences, a fight against Jones would be an interesting sell. Jones is a legitimate fighter but is 30 years older than Fury and may not move the needle much for younger fans.
This fight, should it happen, would be a referendum on how much drawing power the younger brother of a heavyweight champion can have. Tommy Fury will have an interesting path to chart moving forward.
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