Jake Paul announces Mike Perry as backup opponent for Tommy Fury

Mike Perry is the backup plan for Jake Paul’s next fight.

Speaking to the media this past Saturday, Paul announced that Perry will step in as a replacement opponent should Tommy Fury withdraw from his upcoming boxing bout against Paul on Feb. 25 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

“We have Mike Perry on standby,” Paul said when asked if there was a backup for the fight. “Let’s go, Mike Perry. He’s ready to jump in in case Tommy pulls out.”

Perry is currently competing in bare-knuckle boxing for the BKFC, where he is 2-0 with wins over former Bellator welterweight champion Michael “Venom” Page and Julian Lane. He rose to notoriety during a five-year run in the UFC, where he compiled a 7-8 record.

The involvement of Perry is necessitated by Paul and Fury already having seen two previous bookings fall through, in December 2021 and this past August. Paul has feuded not only with Fury, but his half-brother heavyweight boxing king Tyson Fury, and their father John Fury.

On both occasions, there were complications on the Fury side that led to Tommy being unable to make the date, which is why Paul isn’t taking any chances.

“A part of me definitely still doubts [that Fury shows up],” Paul said. “It’s scary and it’s annoying and him not showing up to the face-to-face we were just supposed to do right now, it sucks and the kid’s not necessarily reliable, but the money’s good for him. So it would just be so dumb and I think he’s probably tired of [Fury’s partner and fellow reality TV star Molly-Mae Hague] making all the money in the relationship. He’s got a kid now so he needs to help pay for some diapers.”

Whether or not Paul vs. Fury finally happens, “The Problem Child” isn’t convinced that Fury has ever actually wanted to step into the ring with him.

“I think he’s a big talker, but I don’t think he believes the things that he’s saying,” Paul said. “He’s the Fury family puppet, right? Tyson and John both were real fighters, real boxers, real dogs, and Tommy feels like he has to live up to that so he’s saying the things that they say, but I don’t think he believes it. I don’t think he believes in himself and he’s going to be in for a rude awakening and he’s going to hate this sport after I’m done with him.”

Watch Paul’s press conference below, courtesy of Seconds Out.