TYRON WOODLEY insisted ‘more people are excited’ about his rematch with Jake Paul than the cancelled Tommy Fury fight.
And he promised to ‘knock his head off’ after replacing Fury on late notice and getting a second shot at Paul, who beat him in August.
Woodley, 39, said: “To be honest, I feel like things happened the way they are supposed to happen.
“I feel like this is a fight that should have taken place anyway. This is a fight that more people are excited about.
“It’s kind of funny that fight was set up for December 18 and more people were talking about a rematch with me and Jake anyway, so I feel things happen in time and on purpose for a reason.
“I never wish bad upon anybody. I don’t want anybody to get hurt, so I can step forward. I don’t really have much to say about Tommy Fury.
“I’m not in his camp, I don’t really know him, and not to sound mean, I really don’t care about his reasoning for not taking the fight.
“I’m just here, ready and willing and trying to go out there and knock his head off.”
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In Paul’s first three fights, he beat YouTuber ‘AnEsonGib’, ex-NBA star Nate Robinson, 37, and retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren, also 37.
But his biggest win to date was against Woodley over eight rounds, with Fury, 22, beating the YouTuber’s sparring partner Anthony Taylor, 32.
It set up the huge celebrity grudge match which was set for December 18 in Florida.
But Fury this week pulled out with a broken rib and chest infection, while Woodley signed as his replacement.
The ex-UFC champion had been campaigning for a rematch against Paul, 24, so had no hesitation in accepting the late-notice opportunity.
Woodley said: “Very few times you get a chance to go back and redo something,” said Woodley.
“Sometimes you sit there and you live with regrets, ‘Like damn man, I feel like I won the fight. Maybe I could have done this a little bit differently, maybe if I would have thrown a few more punches here.’
“Now I get the opportunity to go back and undo what was already done, so that’s something that drives me without any additional money, any additional sold out crowd.
“The fact that Jake Paul can walk around and say he beat me, just boils my skin and blood and everything inside of my body.
“I’m trying to go out there and just make it clear that I’m the better fighter, I’m the harder puncher.”
