Tommy Fury vows to knock 'scared' Jake Paul 'spark out' after comeback

Fury looking to tee up money-spinning rematch after ending 19-month absence with messy points victory over Kenan Hanjalic in Budapest

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Tommy Fury threw down the gauntlet to Jake Paul after announcing his return to boxing with a scrappy points victory over Kenan Hanjalic.

Fury deservedly won a unanimous decision against his Bosnian opponent in a messy six-round cruiserweight main event that went the distance in Budapest on Friday night, staying undefeated and improving his professional record to 11-0 after ending a 19-month absence from the ring.

It was his first fight since a contentious points win over KSI in Manchester in October 2023, which came hot on the heels of his memorable split-decision defeat of arch-rival Paul in another massive lucrative showdown against a YouTuber-turned-pugilist in Saudi Arabia.

He subsequently underwent surgery on a potentially career-threatening right hand injury that he had been secretly battling for four years, since his third pro fight, calling 2024 the worst year of his life as he spoke candidly in the build-up to facing Hanjalic of battling with alcohol and briefly splitting up with long-time partner Molly-Mae Hague.

‘TNT’ had been initially due to return earlier this year in a high-profile crossover contest against Darren Till to headline Misfits Boxing 20, only to withdraw from that bout citing concerns over the former UFC fighter’s comments about potentially using MMA tactics inside the ring.

It was far from a vintage performance from Fury against Hanjalic at the MTK Arena, perhaps to be expected after so long out of the ring, but he was nevertheless delighted to be back in action as he again spoke of the pain of the last year as he dedicated the victory to Hague, his parents and his daughter Bambi, all of whom helped him get through such a tough period.

Fury also left no room whatsoever for interpretation when asked for his thoughts on a potential long-awaited rematch with Paul, whom he outpointed in Diriyah more than two years ago.

Rematch: More than two years have passed since Tommy Fury outpointed arch-rival Jake Paul in Saudi Arabia

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While Fury has only fought twice since then including Friday night, Paul has rattled off five successive victories against Nate Diaz, Andre August, Ryan Bourland, Mike Perry and Mike Tyson, while he is scheduled to meet former WBC middleweight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in California on June 28.

“Jake Paul is a b***h and he’s running scared,” Fury said in the ring after beating Hanjalic. “Jake, the hand’s fixed now baby. The hand is fixed.

“I fought a guy in here tonight, he’s had over a hundred amateur fights, experienced and he’s as tough as teak. If Jake Paul wants to step inside this ring, I guarantee you next time I will knock him spark out.

“I’ve had two years out of the ring, this is after two years. I’ll knock that bum out whenever he wants it.”

There was also victory for a second Fury brother on Friday night’s undercard in Hungary, where Roman Fury moved to 5-0 in the professional ranks with a dominant fourth-round stoppage of Croatian heavyweight Josip Pehar.

The show opened with back-to-back victories for talented young Hungarian prospects Varadi Sandor and Valentin Koloszar, who comfortably outpointed Nikolas Panic and Alexandru Ionita respectively.

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