Sport
John Fury calls out Jake Paul as he demands Tommy be ‘paid what he’s owed’
A reminder to always get it in writing.
In the days since his youngest son’s biggest victory yet, boxing patriarch John Fury has not only joined Twitter but is now calling out Jake Paul to pay Tommy what he’s owed.
That’s right, much to the delight of fight fans and meme lovers alike, ‘Big John’ Fury has finally joined the bird app and while his first matter of business was to greet followers and congratulate his son on his big win, elsewhere, his attention has now turned to chasing up his opponent over the fight fee.
Sharing a number of stories on his Instagram page on Wednesday, the 58-year-old sent a message to the younger Paul brother and his team, declaring this as “the moment of truth” and demanding that they “pay up” and honour their deal.
The deal he’s referring to is one that was supposedly agreed upon during the final face-off when Paul offered Tommy a double or nothing chance: earn twice the originally agreed-upon fee if he won or box for free if he lost. Fury quite obviously agreed.
With Fury, 23, already reportedly set to earn approximately $4.5 million (£3.75m) and 35% of the PPV revenue for the fight even prior to the last-minute offer, this would see the Manc boxer’s fight purse rise to well over $10m.
However, despite a clear verbal agreement on stage and a handshake exchanged between the two fighters, it remains unclear and seemingly unlikely that an officially revised contract was ever even drawn up, let alone signed.
Nevertheless, the Fury brothers’ father insisted to the opposite camp: “we had a deal in front of millions of people worldwide. I expect you to honour that deal; you owe us some money”.
He went on to warn Paul and co., “don’t come back at me with contracts and all that, I’m a gypsy, I can’t read or write properly, adding, “We were over there to do a job, we did it — I’m sure you’ll be a great guy and honour what you’ve done”.
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Whether Paul will pay Tommy remains to be seen but the 26-year-old has since gone on to claim that, all told, he earned around $30m from the fight.
Although many have suggested this figure is highly inflated given his reduced fight fee ($3.2m), when taking into account the fact he commanded 65% of the millions of PPV earnings at £19.95 a pop in the UK alone — not to mention any sponsorship deals he might have had — it’s not entirely implausible.
That being said, the social media star turned boxer surely has more than enough to meet his end of the bargain. The question is, though, is Jake Paul a man of his word like John Fury believes?
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Featured Image — John Fury/Jake Paul/Tommy Fury (via Instagram)
Sport
Wigan Athletic’s James McClean reveals autism diagnosis in heartfelt Instagram message
Danny Jones
Wigan Athletic and Ireland star James McClean has revealed his recent autism diagnosis in solidarity with the ASD community and to help support the international week of awareness.
The Latics, long-serving Irish international and former Premier League winger informed his followers of the personal news in a heartwarming social media post with his young daughter who is also autistic.
In contrast to his four-year-old girl, Willow-Ivy — whose autism was recognised early on — McClean has only just learned of his own diagnosis, having “decided to go and get an ASD [autism spectrum disorder] assessment” after spotting “so many small traits in her” that he sees in himself.
Taking to Instagram, the 33-year-old said he felt there was no better time to make this announcement than during Autism Awareness and Acceptance Week (27 March-2 April) and stand in solidarity with his daughter and others who are on the spectrum.
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As he details in the caption: “The last 4 years have been life-changing in the most amazing way but also very difficult at times as her daddy watching her overcome so many obstacles in her life and learning how to manage the challenges she faces on a daily basis.
“The more Erin [partner] and I learned about autism the more we began to recognise I was very similar to Willow in more ways than we thought… It’s been a bit of a journey and now having a diagnosis I feel it’s time to share it.”
He goes on to admit that he “debated for a while going public” but that he’s now “done this for Willow-Ivy, to let her know that [he] understand[s] and that being autistic won’t and should never hold her back from reaching her goals and dreams.” Such a lovely and inspiring message.
No one should ever feel like they need to hide what makes them the person that they are a secret. We applaud you for speaking out, James, and wish you and your little girl all the best.
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Featured Image — James McClean (via Instagram)
Sport
Rodri slams ‘rubbish’ Scotland despite historic 2-0 defeat as Scott McTominay scores yet again
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Rodri has called out Scotland for their “rubbish” tactics and style of play following their now famous 2-0 win over Spain.
Scotland hosted Spain at Hampden Park stadium on Tuesday night in the first round of Euro 2024 qualifiers and after having beaten Cyprus 3-0 on 25 March, the Tartan army managed an even more significant victory over the three-time champions, beating them for the first time since 1984.
Speaking to media after the game and obviously disappointed with the result, the Man City midfielder said that he didn’t feel the scoreline fully reflected the game and had a very clear opinion on what he thought of the home side’s performance.
In a word: “rubbish”.
Rodri went on to argue that, in his mind, “this is not football”, claiming that the opposition were “always wasting time” and trying to “provoke” the Spanish players by going to ground after most tackles.
The 26-year-old was also critical of the officials, intimating that the referee had the opportunity to intervene but simply “said nothing”.
On the contrary, the Scottish reporter interviewing challenged the Spaniard by suggesting that many fans within the ground would argue that Spain were guilty of the same “in terms of how quickly the players went down”. Rodri naturally disagreed.
Either way, it wasn’t time-wasting that made the headlines on the night, it was Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, who bagged yet another brace to send the national stadium into pandemonium with his third and fourth goals for Scotland in the last two games.
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The 26-year-old opened the scoring inside just seven minutes and grabbed his second similarly early into the second half with an instinctive volley.
Along with his double against Cyprus at the weekend, that makes four goals in the last two games, with many Reds noting his heroics have come a key time with the likes of Casemiro suspended and Austrian international Marcel Sabitzer potentially injured again.
McTominay might have dropped out of United’s first-choice midfield when everyone is fit but has still proven himself to be a solid squad player.
Moreover, perhaps this international break has helped him send a message to Erik ten Hag ahead of a key period for the club.
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Featured Image — Viaplay Sports UK (via Twitter)/Scott McTominay (via Instagram)
