Chael Sonnen wants Jake Paul to cancel his upcoming fight with Tommy Fury. Sonnen’s startling recommendation comes hot on the heels of Fury’s notable absence from a recent press conference, which saw Fury stand Paul up in front of the assembled press. Sonnen recently appeared on The MMA Hour to discuss his take on Fury’s commitment – or lack thereof – to the fight.
“They’ve got to kick Tommy Fury, and they’ve got to do it now. They cannot wait until the last minute. They cannot wait until the weigh-ins. They can’t let Fury keep calling all the shots. What he 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.
Chael Sonnen: This Is Why Jake Paul Should Cancel Tommy Fury Fight
But at some point they have to take control if they want to be respected, and it’s a hard thing that MVP’s had. MVP is new and boy have they had to pay for an education. They’ve gotten a rougher go of anyone else ever, but at some point they have to make it clear that they are in charge. And today when he skipped the press conference, his second time, you cut him, you bring Perry in, and that is it. It’s a mistake that MVP is making.
I would have done it an hour ago. 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. But they had to see that coming. He’s already done it to them once. They had to see, ‘Hey, there’s a slight possibility that when we get here he’s not here.’ Somewhere he missed his flight, somewhere he didn’t check into the hotel room. They should have had word and had enough time to scramble, and had Mike Perry there. They should have moved on with it.”
Sonnen does, however, believe that the experience will only sharpen Paul’s promotional acumen. “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.
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.”
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