TOMMY FURY has explained his reasoning for snubbing his Saudi press conference with Jake Paul.
The former Love Island star was expected to throw verbal jabs with his rival in a presser to promote their Diriyah dust-up.
MOST VALUABLE PROMOTIONSTommy Fury and Jake Paul are set to throw down in Saudi Arabia later this month[/caption]
GETTYFormer Love Island star Fury missed their Saudi press conference this week[/caption]
GETTYFury refused to travel to break training camp to trade verbal jabs with Paul[/caption]
Fury was lambasted by Paul – who is training for the fight in nearby Dubai – for not turning up for the event, which he insists would’ve disrupted his training for the grudge match.
When asked about his no-show, he told MMA Fighting: “I can clear that up in two seconds.
“Basically, Jake Paul signed up into the world of professional boxing and I am a professional athlete, a professional boxer.
“I always have been and [ask] any professional boxer and they’ll tell you this.
“No one breaks camp, mid to the end [of training camp] to fly all the way to Saudi Arabia, have a 10-minute press conference, fly all the way back to Manchester, complete my camp then fly all the way back to Saudi Arabia again the following week.
“Now why the press conference couldn’t wait until a week later on fight week is beyond me.
“Most big fights, they schedule press conferences on fight week. I don’t know what is going on there.”
Fury believes his decision to skip the press conference is a testament to his determination to win the fight.
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He continued: “I don’t know if he’s trying to play mind games or anything but that’s definitely not how it works.
“One man’s flying all over the globe, trying to get in the glitz and glamour, press conferences, whatever else, and one man’s in the gym training to annihilate this man.
“So I think the proof is in the pudding. You can see who the professional athlete is.
“I’m not interested in press conferences.
“I’m interested in completing my camp, which has been the best camp of my career and I’m ready to KO this man and get him out of the sport.”
After nearly two years of build-up and two fight cancellations, Fury is looking forward to putting the Paul saga of his career to bed.
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He said: “Things have got in the way the previous two times.
“Things well out of my control. A broke[n] rib and everything else that was wrong with the first fight.
“The second fight, denied entry into the U.S. Third fight, here we are.
“Three times is a charm and we’re seeing that.
“We’re two weeks out. I’m ripped, I’m ready, I’m fit, I’m strong and I’ve got more in the tank than what it takes to beat Jake Paul.
“Don’t worry about that.”