Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum didn’t hold back in a scathing critique of Jake Paul and Tommy Fury, dismissing their involvement in the sport as pure spectacle.
Speaking to FightHype, Arum blasted Paul’s recent bout with 58-year-old Mike Tyson, calling it “demeaning” to boxing. Despite the Netflix broadcast drawing over 100 million viewers, Arum made it clear he sees no sporting merit in such events.
“Jake Paul is not a boxer. It’s spectacle,” Arum said. “The Tyson event was sort of demeaning for the sport. Tyson was an old man.”
Paul is set to return to the ring on June 28 against former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.—a fighter who has long struggled with discipline and substance abuse. But Arum dismissed the matchup entirely: “That’s not even boxing. I have absolutely no interest in a Jake Paul-Chavez Jr fight.”
Paul, 28, holds a 12-fight record with his only loss coming in 2023 against Tommy Fury via split decision. But Arum had little praise for Fury either, claiming, “Tommy Fury can’t fight. He won every round against Jake Paul, but there are very few heavyweights he could last more than a round or two with.”
Though ESPN—Arum’s broadcasting partner through Top Rank—aired the Paul vs. Fury fight, the veteran promoter made his stance crystal clear: “It’s not a scam because people know what they’re getting, but Jake Paul is not fighting real fighters. He’s smarter than you and me combined.”
In Arum’s view, these high-profile bouts may draw attention, but they do little to elevate the sport he’s spent decades promoting.
