Tyson Fury says fighters hating on Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul bout are just jealous

Tyson Fury says fighters who are negative about the bout between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul are jealous of the money expected to be made.

Clearly he feels differently.

“I’m over the moon for it," Fury, the heavyweight champion boxer, told Ariel Helwani on the MMAHour. "Looking forward to it. I get to see the legend in Mike Tyson back in the ring.’’

It’ll be Tyson’s first sanctioned pro fight since 2005 and his first appearance in the ring since he fought Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition in 2020.

Fury, named after Tyson, called the exhibition between Iron Mike and Jones “fantastic."

“So I get to see him again, live and exclusive as an adult," he added. “What a treat."

Fury made the comments while before his own much-anticipated fight Saturday against Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed world heavyweight title. In addition to sharing his enthusiasm for Tyson, he lauded Paul and Paul’s brother Logan. (He did note the rivalry between Jake Paul and Fury’s brother, Tommy, who handed Jake Paul his lone defeat by split decision in February 2023.)

“I know we’ve got a rivalry going on with Tommy but I’ve got to speak how I see it," Fury  said. “Jake and Logan have done absolutely fantastic I think for themselves.

“From becoming like young kids to being multimillionaires and YouTubers and wrestlers and boxers and everything else and entertaining.

“I know they’ve got a lot of haters and stuff. However, I’m not one of them. I’m a fan and I support them. I support people going in and making lots of millions of dollars out of boxing, my sport."

The Tyson-Paul fight is scheduled for July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and it will be livestreamed by Netflix.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tyson Fury 'over the moon' about Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight