If Tommy Fury is to be taken seriously then he needs to disassociate himself from Jake Paul

On paper, Tommy Fury has the means to become renowned as fighting royalty. The 22-year-old comes from a long line of fierce boxers and is the brother of arguably the greatest heavyweight to ever grace a boxing ring, Tyson Fury.

With an impressive training history already behind him, it's more than viable that this up-and-coming fighter could dominate the light heavyweight division in the future. However, he's currently doing himself no favours by nagging YouTuber and novice fighter Jake Paul for a boxing bout.

Paul and Fury have been involved in a bitter war of words for the best part of a year now, but no fight between them has been officially scheduled yet. Critics are focused on the fight on the horizon: Paul will soon be taking on Tyron Woodley, the former UFC Welterweight Champion who is making his first foray into the arena of professional boxing.

The controversial YouTuber has done a very good job of riling up UFC and boxing professionals with his cocky exterior, but surprisingly, he's also done a good job in amassing fans and stealing away with three consistent wins. It looks to be another victory ahead as the Jake Paul - Tyron Woodley betting odds have him at 8/13 to be declared the winner. If he truly does remain undefeated, this will, of course, leave the door open for a future bout with Fury. In addition, serious questions will be raised about the threat Paul realistically poses to other professional fighters in the years to come.

USA BOUND To confirm the rumours…. I will be fighting on AUGUST 29th in Cleveland, Ohio. I can’t wait to put on a show in America…. bring it on pic.twitter.com/LjO6W6jRQH

— Tommy Fury (@tommytntfury) August 2, 2021

Interestingly, Fury will appear on the undercard of Paul’s fight with Woodley. In truth, it’s a bit of a drawback in that he'll be lurking in the shadows by supporting the main event as opposed to taking the glory of the spotlight as a contender in the big fight.

However, the 22-year-old only has himself to blame for this as, arguably, if Fury hadn’t been so intent on a fight with Paul then this wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Regrettably, this support slot won’t help him in his bid to be considered as a credible fighter of the same calibre as his older brother. In fact, it will likely open him up to ridicule in that his aim to be considered the best in the light heavyweight division will suffer.

Fury and Paul will come face to face for the first time at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland at the end of August. This meeting is likely to put the foundations in place for a long-awaited fight and you can imagine that there'll be the usual insults traded and threats promised. In fact, Fury has already set the tone by saying that Paul will pay for every word he's said about the Englishman's girlfriend, Molly-Mae Hague.

While Fury may well be serious about defending his girlfriend's honour, he’s also not a fool and will know that a fight with Paul could financially set him up for life. With so much to gain, it’s easy to see why Fury is seemingly happy to put his reputation on the line in order to get himself on the lucrative Jake Paul gravy train.

That being said, the lasting problem with this strategy is that this association with Paul, who remains a contentious figure within the fighting industry, has the potential to damage Fury’s chances of being taken seriously going forward.

Some may call it clever and ultimately it may be a shortcut to a huge cheque, but if Fury gets to the top of his division, then he'll be earning eye-watering sums of money in any event. The best bit of advice to Fury would be to let the Paul circus roll through town without playing a part and, instead, get in the gym in order to begin preparing for a long-term career that will last at least the next 15 years.