I was Tommy Fury’s first coach and urged him to go on Love Island… but now he HAS to KO KSI to prove himself
TOMMY FURY has been warned by Ricky Hatton that he MUST knock out KSI in order to separate himself from the celebrity boxing world.
British legend Hatton was Fury’s first professional coach before the unbeaten boxer put his career on hold to go on Love Island.
Fury came of the hit reality show as a celeb superstar after meeting now-fiancee Molly-Mae Hague.
Fury’s new-found fame saw him land a blockbuster pay-per-view grudge match against YouTube-turned boxer Jake Paul.
And he kept his reputation as a boxer intact as he beat Paul, 26, by split-decision in Saudi Arabia.
Now Fury, 24, returns against Paul’s arch rival KSI on October 14 in Manchester, but Hatton believes another points win will not suffice.
He told SunSport: “These are rappers and YouTubers, they’re not professional boxers like you, so I think in this fight he needs to make a bit more of a statement.
“Tommy must still have visions of doing something in real boxing and if that’s the case I’d like to see him knock out KSI. Or certainly win extremely convincingly which I think he will.
“Tommy’s been getting a lot of stick but you can’t blame him for going down the route he’s gone, I advised him to go down that route and he’s capitalised fully on it.”
Hatton was the one who urged Fury to go onto the hit ITV series in order to make a name for himself.
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And despite consecutive crossover bouts, the brother of heavyweight champion Tyson claimed he still wants to succeed as a traditional boxer.
But Hatton insisted in order for those world title aspirations to be taking seriously, he must score a KO against KSI.
He said: “At the end of the day, Tommy still talks of having ambitions of doing well in boxing.
“No disrespect to Jake Paul, he’s not the worst out there but he’s certainly not the best and KSI is a rapper!
“Tommy at first before Love Island was a professional boxer, I’m not knocking Tommy I was the one who said to Tommy that he should go on Love Island.
“I thought he’d make more money that way and I’m absolutely made up for him that he’s able to get the paydays that he has with Jake Paul and KSI.
“I told him that was the route to go down but if he keeps talking about being successful as a boxer than I do think he has to knock KSI out.
In retirement, Hatton has turned to coaching and is now a team captain for a new boxing concept called The Box Off which kicks off next Saturday.
The tournament will see four city-based teams compete in a knockout competition.
Each team has five fighters, one from each weight class, and will box over four rounds with winners progressing into the final.
Finalists also earn four points for their team, with championship winners gaining a further six meaning the team with he most are crowned victors.
Hatton is leading the charge for Manchester as he looks to find boxing’s next top star.