Tommy Fury has claimed it is harder to fight YouTubers than professional boxers because they ‘don’t know what they’re doing’ – calling it a ‘messy and horrible’ experience.
Fury – the brother of heavyweight champion Tyson – laboured to a difficult decision victory over YouTuber KSI earlier this month, a fight that was hugely controversial and led to some fans calling the result a ‘robbery’.
But Fury hit out at KSI’s performance and insisted the novice was never planning to go toe-to-toe with him – criticising him for ‘clinching me all night’ and ‘running from corner post to corner post’.
‘I think boxing conventional boxers is easier than fighting YouTubers and novices,’ he told Mail Sport. ‘Any professional boxer will tell you that. Novices don’t know what they’re doing.
‘Punches are coming from everywhere, you’re leaning out of shots and it’s horrible and messy. Whereas with a conventional boxer, they’re in front of you and you know what you’re getting. I do think it’s easier.
Tommy Fury has claimed it is harder to fight conventional boxers than YouTubers in an exclusive interview with Mail Sport
He said KSI ‘spent all night clinching’ and ‘doing star jumps’ after his disappointing points win
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‘In the build up to the KSI fight I was sparring with solid professionals and I was putting on clinics in the gym, so it makes me want to go back and be like “let me be a normal boxer and show what I can do”.
‘Before I started fighting these guys, I was getting them out of there and throwing good conversations. But these guys, you throw a jab and they run 100 miles away.’
Tommy is currently in Saudi Arabia ahead of Tyson’s fight against Francis Ngannou before reflecting on his lacklustre performance against KSI – claiming that KSI’s ‘erratic’ display made things much harder for him.
‘His performance wasn’t a performance, he wasn’t there to box at all,’ he told Mail Sport. ‘Looking back on it, he was never going to stand there and trade with me because I’m a lot heavier than him. His plan was to clinch me all night. It is what it is.
‘I was upset at the time because it was a massive atmosphere and build up and I wanted to have a good fight. But when you’ve got someone doing star jumps in the corner and running from corner post to corner post. It’s very difficult to fight someone who doesn’t want to engage or win the fight.
Fury and KSI were both criticised for failing to engage during their fight this month
The ex-Love Island star said novice boxers ‘don’t know what they’re doing’, calling the experience ‘horrible and messy’
‘He just wanted to get through the rounds. Jake Paul, Logan Paul – they look like they want to stand there a bit more and don’t do erratic things like KSI so maybe that would be more of a good fight for fans to see.’
Fury’s fight against another YouTuber in Jake Paul was more entertaining by comparison and there have been calls for a rematch between the pair after their own showdown in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
The 24-year-old said there had been contact from the American over a second fight but said he was able to ‘pick and choose’ who he fought after beating both Paul and KSI.
‘[Paul] messaged me the other day saying congratulations brother. He was trying to get that fight on! [Another fight] is inevitable. He knows that I am his biggest draw and I have done things he hasn’t done. Him and KSI has been talked about for years and I literally came and beat the pair of them on their own show in 12 months.
‘It’s my choices now, I’m at the head of this crossover thing. I’ve beaten the two best men in it. Whoever I want to fight next it’s up to me and I can pick and choose now.’
Fury also has options back in the professional boxing ranks and he received an enticing proposition from cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia, who said he would love to ‘beat him up’ in a title fight.
He claimed he was still hopeful of winning a world title one day before the end of his career
He said he would relish the chance to face the Australian and said he was still keen to return to pro boxing in the future after ‘making the most’ of fighting YouTubers and influencers – insisting it was still his dream to become a world champion.
‘It’s good isn’t it, a world champion like that, he’s talking about a guy who’s had 10 fights. It’s very good. I don’t recall this happening before where world champions want to fight people at the bottom of the pecking order.
‘I’m just happy to be in this position. I’m going to make the most of it – it’s financially better than conventional boxing, this is money most fighters will never see in their career. At the end of the day, the plan is to challenge for that top strap.
‘I wouldn’t feel right in myself if I left the sport without trying to win a world title – my dream and my goal. I do believe I will win one because I’ve seen far worse people win one. We’re going to make the most of the crossover scene and when that’s all said and done we’ll challenge the top boys and see how we go.’