The fight between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury is finally over.
Paul, the YouTube star turned boxer, and Fury will meet Feb. 26 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, officials told ESPN on Friday. The planned event, which was originally scheduled to take place on February 25, will partner with Top Rank and air digitally in the United States on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
The fight will be contested at 185 pounds and is contracted for eight rounds.
In the co-main event, former two-weight world champion Badou Jack will take on WBC heavyweight champion Ilunga Makabu. Also on the card will be Ashton Sylve, an undefeated top prospect from Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, taking on Maxwell Awuku.
An official announcement on the card is expected later Friday.
Paul and Fury, half-brother of heavyweight great Tyson Fury and UK reality TV star, were supposed to fight twice before. The original fight was scheduled for December 2021, but Fury pulled out with illness. Paul ended up fighting former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in a rematch and knocked him out. Paul’s postponed date against Fury for August 2022 was also canceled, when Fury had travel issues in the United States.
Paul, 26, is 6-0 as a professional boxer with four knockouts. Fury, 23, is 8-0 and will be by far the most experienced boxer Paul has faced.
«The moment of truth has finally arrived,» Paul said in a statement. «On February 26, I will step into the ring with a ‘real boxer,’ an 8-0 fighter from a family of legendary fighters, and show the world the truth about who Jake Paul, the boxer, really is.»
The Paul vs. Fury card will be co-produced by Skill Challenge Entertainment Enterprises of Saudi Arabia and Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, in association with Fury promoter Queensberry Promotions and Top Rank.
«With Saudi Arabia’s per capita consumption of YouTube content remaining one of the highest in the world, the highly anticipated fight featuring one of its most renowned personalities turned boxer, Jake Paul, will be among the most watched in the world,” SCEE Chairman Prince Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said in a statement.