Jake Paul trainer BJ Flores, the ex fighter, has been processing the first pro loss for the ex You Tuber turned the face of boxing. Among the elements he’s pondering includes the fact that Jake Paul caught Covid in December, a case severe enough for Flores to consider recommending the fight be rescheduled.
Now most of you know, Sunday in Saudi Arabia Paul took on Tommy Fury, the younger and less accomplished brother of heavyweight icon Tyson Fury.
Tommy rose to the occasion, Flores told NYFIGHTS, and deserves due credit. “Tommy did what he’s good at, stayed on the outside, used his length, he’d fire, let Jake shoot and then move,” said the Missouri native, who went 34-4-1 from 2003-2018 in the pro ranks.
Jake Paul trainer BJ Flores draws on his lengthy stint in boxing as he works with Jake Paul
“We went there, tried to get the results, unfortunately fell short, now it’s back to the drawing board, and make adjustments,” the trainer said. “We lost a decision to a kid who’d been around boxing a long time, Jake was in the fight, it close at the end. Now water under the bridge.”
OK, before we get deeper on when a rematch will occur, and what Team Jake needs work on to get the W next time, some examination of the Sunday affair.
I was curious, how confident was Flores that Jake Paul would defeat lil Fury?
“Going in, and I’m going to be really honest, I thought it was 90-10,” Flores said. “I really thought barring something crazy there was no way Jake would lose.”
I admitted to BJ that I picked Tommy to win in this prediction page, but, my truth be told, was doing that more so based on life’s inevitabilities over Tommy’s skill set. I thought it quite possible that Tommy wouldn’t rise to the occasion. That the immensity of the moment would cause shrinkage—but no, he excelled to a degree that I hadn’t seen on tape.
“He rose to the occasion,” Flores agreed. “Give him his credit, doing tons of media, all the traveling, etc. I’m not gonna say Tommy Fury was GREAT, but he stuck to that gameplan.”
Jake Paul trainer BJ Flores told me he thought that maybe there’d be a draw, what with Jake scoring that knockdown. After two rounds, Flores said he knew adjustments would have to be made. And, he said, Jake did do that, but Tommy kept performing at a high level. “Jake started getting closer to him, coming at him not trying to reach,” Flores noted. “Tommy showed me a high boxing IQ, he showed me a lot I’d never seen before. He said plenty of folks ringside thought Jake did enough to win or get the draw, at the least, but he’s not beefing with the judges’ call.
Yes, BJ Flores says, Jake Paul is keen to fight Tommy Fury again
Now, some other tidbits.
People have been curious, what was Jake talking about when he referenced camp not being optimal, him being sick, and having an injured arm. I brought that up, what was the real deal?
Case of Covid kept Jake Paul from training properly
“Jake got Covid, in Cleveland, in December,” the trainer said. “He was out for ten days, then it was a couple weeks to get back on track. December 21st, to Jan. 5, then he felt OK to train..and he’s never a guy who misses training. He was coughing his lungs out.” To the extent, Flores said, that he thought a couple times that it might be a good idea to postpone the fight. “Jake said no, ‘We gotta get him now,’’ he said. “Jake was so intent on going through with it. It was I guess against my better judgement, but he wanted to get to the fight.”
And what about an arm injury Jake referred to post-fight? “It was our last sparring, 12 days before, Jake threw an overhand right, he jammed his right shoulder, it affected his elbow. The next six days, he couldn’t shoot the right. So, the last time we sparred, some drills, was the week of the fight. But he didn’t care, injuries happen…It wasn’t a fight ending type thing, but it was a detriment to training.”
And if/when these two get it on again, Flores said, he’d be inclined to make sure there was less jetting here and there for press conferences and such. In Miami, in London, in Dubai, in Saudi Arabia, not the more typical routine with camp in Puerto Rico, in retrospect, it wasn’t ideal.
Now, he did convey that he was very, very impressed with Saudi Arabia, the prep for the event, and the atmosphere. “They’re reverent and polite people. And they back up what they say. They did it with a ton of integrity. It was very fun to be a part of.” Yes, Flores agreed when I mentioned that Las Vegas has to play defense versus Saudi Arabia in being the default host to mega fights.
When will Jake Paul fight Tommy Fury again?
So, any idea about timing on a rematch? “I think it’d be Tommy again next, but I’m not sure how realistic they will be (regarding purse),” Jake Paul trainer BJ Flores said. Him, co-trainer Danny Smith, Most Valuable Promotions’ Nakisa Bidarian, they’ll sit down soon, and talk near future. Flores said it’s ideal for Jake to take a good bit of time, a week, or two, to properly assimilate the experience, let emotions settle.
Flores sounded wise when sharing that ideally, Team Jake uses the loss as fuel. “You turn losses into experiences to learn from, you get better, you gain wisdom and knowledge. We’re doing that now. He’s not out of this by any means, we need to make adjustments, we’re gonna use this energy, the feelings of disappointment to drive us on the next one. We’ll do what we gotta do against Tommy, in Jake’s next fight, or (later) this year, I’m not sure…but Jake is already very, very hungry.”
