Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum has branded celebrity fights such as the upcoming bout between Tommy Fury and Jake Paul as 'circus acts'.
Fury and Paul will meet in the ring later this month on December 18 in Tampa, Florida.
The two have gone back and forth with trash talk for months, having both fought on the same card back in August when Fury defeated Anthony Taylor and Paul defeated Tyron Woodley.
This has led to a highly-anticipated bout with both fighters set to make millions.
But Arum - Tommy's half brother Tyson Fury's co-promoter - is not convinced by either of the fighters.
YouTuber turned boxer Paul has fought four times professionally - defeating a fellow YouTuber, former NBA player and two UFC fighters.
Meanwhile, Fury has fought seven times since turning pro, with his opponents combining for over 200 losses.
Although Arum hopes Fury is victorious, he voiced doubt about the former Love Island contestant ever becoming a world class boxer.
Arum told talkSPORT: "We don’t know if Tommy Fury would ever be an elite boxer.
“I mean, I could think of dozens of young light heavyweights who would beat him.
“So you know, it’s irrelevant to me whether he wins or loses [against Paul]. Because he’s Tyson Fury’s brother, I absolutely hope that he wins, and I wish him the best. But if he loses, he loses."
Celebrities turning to boxing has become a regular occurence in recent year.
In 2017, legendary UFC fighter Conor McGregor turned to boxing to face pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The following year, both Jake and Logan Paul would begin boxing - facing British YouTubers KSI and Deji respetively.
Since then, a number of celebrity boxing events have been hold - with a TikTok vs YouTube event - in which social media stars from both platforms faced each other.
When asked about the nature of celebrity boxing in general, Arum said: “You know, I don’t think that really goes to the essence of the sport.
“Obviously, these are not elite fighters. They’re almost like circus acts.
“But again, if people are influenced to watch them, nobody is putting a gun to anybody’s head. And I think it’s neither good nor bad for the sport of boxing.”
